Tag Archives: survey

Libraries urged to participate in 2011-2012 PLFTAS survey

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Drum roll, please……the 2011-12 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) survey is now live and ready for your valuable input. Last year, the survey had a record-topping 86.5% response rate, with participation from over 8,400 urban, suburban, and rural libraries in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

We thank you for your participation in the past and hope that you will continue to participate in this important survey. The high response rate provides the greatest impact for advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national levels.

The PLFTAS is the largest and longest-running (since 1994) study of public library Internet connectivity. As technology has changed since the beginning of the study, so has the survey evolved to capture the most current snapshot of the technology resources brokered by our libraries and the funding that enables free public access to these resources.  With feedback from libraries and the PLFTAS Advisory Committee, this year’s survey has been updated and streamlined, most significantly in the funding section.

Why is your participation so important?  Data from the study will help your library identify the impacts of the your library’s public computer and Internet access on the community, and support efforts to inform and educate stakeholders – policymakers, foundations, elected officials, trustees, and the media – about the value of libraries and issues related to sustaining public library technology services. To help with messaging and advocacy, we’ve developed PR templates, issue briefs and state summaries that provide succinct messages for use on behalf of libraries.

In addition to the launch of the PLFTAS survey, what other monumental events have taken place on September 6 (per Wikipedia)? In 1492, Columbus left the Canary Islands for his first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1522, the only surviving ship of Magellan’s expedition returned to Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world. And in 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years. Let’s be like Cal and break another record with a 90% response rate for the 2011-2012 survey! Libraries need all the muscle they can gather to continue to circle the bases with their advocacy messages.

2011 Study released; highlights “new normal” impacting service to millions

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With the release today of the 2010-2011 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS), libraries have a powerful new weapon for advocacy at the local, state, and national level. Built on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries, begun in 1994, this study provides data that can help library directors and library IT staff benchmark and advocate for technology resources in communities across the nation.

Data from this year’s study present libraries grappling with a pervasive “new normal” of flat or decreased funding, paired with increased demand for public library technology resources. The result is a mix of the grim austerity, reflected in decreased operating hours and closed library outlets, in contrast with the robust delivery of technology resources that support workforce development, e-government services, and skills training for the competitive global marketplace. Key findings include:

  • 70% of libraries report public use of Internet computers increased in 2010.
  • 65% of libraries report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities, with an increase to 73% in rural communities.
  • 67% of libraries offer access to e-books, with 87% access reported by urban libraries.
  • 16% of all libraries report decreased hours of operation – a jump from 4.5% just two years ago. This translates to lost hours at more than 2,600 locations.
  • A majority (60%) of libraries report flat or decreased operating budgets in FY11, up from 40% in FY2009.
  • Seventeen state library agencies (34%) report they were aware of public library closures in their states in 2010.

More key findings are outlined in the 2010-2011 PLFTAS Executive Summary, the key findings handout, and this slideshow:

We hope you’ll take the time to look through the full report, which includes state-by-state analysis on public library technology resources, and an illuminating qualitative component from interviews with library directors and library IT directors in California and Oklahoma.

Over the new few weeks we’ll highlight different sections of the report, as well as introduce you to the resources we’ve developed to help you use the PLFTAS data to advocate for your own library.

We’d like to close for today with a special thank you to Dr. Charles R. McClure, who served as a consultant on this project. Dr. McClure began these surveys in 1994, and he and Dr. John Carlo Bertot have conducted the surveys together since that time.  Also, thank you to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the funding of the PLFTAS for the past five years.

Lastly, thank you to the staff at the 8,433 public libraries that completed this year’s survey. The time you take to provide the data in this report offers valuable information for national, state, and local policymakers, library advocates, researchers, practitioners, government and private funding organizations, and others to understand the impact, issues, and needs of libraries providing public access computing.

California libraries move forward during downturn

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In tandem with the trip to San Diego for ALA Midwinter conference, we scheduled visits to three libraries in the area. The visits will provide descriptive data for the qualitative component of the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study. The 2009-2010 study features libraries in Arizona and Tennessee. California and Oklahoma are the two states we will source for the 2010-2011 report.

Welcomed at the SDPL by (l-r) Paul Bareno, Michael McCulley, and Rosemary Diciedue.

While we would love to visit all the participating libraries, that’s just not possible. In addition to the site visits, interviews with libraries have also taken place on the phone and via a virtual focus group. The participants include rural, urban, and suburban libraries from around the state.

Our first day in California, we walked a few sunny blocks to the San Diego Public Library (Central Library). First thing we saw entering was the welcome sign and welcoming staff at the central reference desk.

Brian Ruark, San Diego Public Library

Our guide for the visit was Brian Ruark, Technology Resource Program Manager. Unlike the people behind him in the photo, Brian is not waiting for a computer. Prominently nested amongst Brian’s many responsibilities is planning the technology infrastructure for the new Central Library under construction.

Next day we headed north to the Encinitas Community Library, one of 33 branches of the San Diego County Library. We got there a little early, and had a chance to talk with a few of the people waiting for the library to open. “Comfy place” and “great staff” were typical comments.

Jackie Dzugan, Encinitas Community Library

Before sitting down to interview Library Director José Aponte, we had the pleasure of touring the library with Jackie Dzugan, head of adult services. In addition to the great tour, she recommended the most fabulous place for lunch: Lotus Café. You can always count on librarians for the best information!

Our final site visit was the Chula Vista Public Library with Director Betty Waznis. It was very gracious of Betty to meet with us, as it turned out to be quite a tough day at the library. Due to continuing funding cuts, it was the last day for 1/3 of the staff. Out the on floor, you would never know what was going on behind the scenes. The spacious library had activity going on in every corner: lots of activity at the reference desk, visitors taking advantage of Wi-Fi, and full public computers in the adult and children’s sections.

Busy, as usual, at the public computers at the Chula Vista Public Library Civic Center Branch

Right after we left town, Governor Brown announced the massive proposed library budget cuts. What’s ahead? The legislative and advocacy committee of the California Library Association were scheduled to meet in Sacramento on January 21 to develop the response plan to the governor’s proposal. If our CA colleagues have any comments or updates on the situation, we’d love to have you share here.

It takes a village to raise a study

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Kim Olsen-Clark, American Library Association and Sandra Hughes-Hassell, University of North Carolina.

The Advisory Committee for the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) is made up of staff from libraries, regional systems, and library chapters from across the country. The committee assists in a number of key areas, including issue identification, survey question development, providing perspectives on study findings, and recommendations for dissemination.

Volunteers, such as those on the PLFTAS committee, tend to be the busiest of the busiest. In addition to their job responsibilities, many also serve on other committees at the local, state, and national levels. In light of that, we were pleased to have so many of our committee members (and guests) able to attend our Midwinter meeting, either in-person or via conference call.

Martín Gómez, Los Angeles Public Library, reviewing the PLFTAS report with Cathleen Bourdon, American Library Association.

The PLFTAS team is grateful to the continuing commitment of the Advisory Committee: Stacey Aldrich (California State Library), Nancy Ashmore (Prairie du Chien Memorial Library), Robert Bocher (Department of Instruction, Wisconsin State Library), Linda Crowe (Peninsula Library System), John D. “Danny” Hales, Jr. (Suwannee River Regional Library), Sandra Hughes-Hassell (CORS Representative, University of North Carolina), Christopher Jowaisas (Texas Library Association), Charlie Parker (Tampa Bay Library Consortium), Rivkah Sass (Sacramento Public Library), Mary Ann Stiefvater (Division of Library Development, New York State Library).