Library Research Service

By Melissa Higgins on July 22, 2015 in The Weekly Number

Librarians have always been strong advocates of free speech who fight to advance free access to information and reduce censorship. Even so, a new Harris Poll online survey of 2,244 American adults shows that many don’t hold the position that all information is created equal. The survey, which addresses Americans’ beliefs about banned materials by their format, reveals that U.S. adults are more likely to believe that there are books which should be banned than to believe that there are movies, television shows, and video games that deserve the same treatment. In fact, even though nearly half (48%) of the respondents...

By Melissa Higgins on July 8, 2015 in Technology / The Weekly Number

As part of its in-depth examination of the role that the internet and technology plays in the lives of Americans, Pew Research Center has released the results of a long-term study of Americans’ access to the internet from 2000 to 2015. The study is based on 97 surveys distributed nationwide throughout the past 15 years. In 2000, just over half (52%) of American adults were Internet users, while as of 2015 more than four-fifths (84%) of Americans are using the internet. The surveys found that the biggest contributors to internet usage are age, education, household income, race, and the kind of...

By Melissa Higgins on June 24, 2015 in Academic / Technology / The Weekly Number

With the popularity of e-books in public libraries surging, many academic libraries are still tentatively acquiring e-book collections while debating how they might add to or detract from student research methods. Julie Gilbert and Barbara Fister of Gustavus Adolphus College have published an article in College & Research Libraries that tackles this very question though a survey of 417 students. The aim of their study is to investigate the potential impact of e-books on students reading habits through their current e-book use and their perception of how e-books might alter their reading behaviors in the future. Even though close to half...

By Meghan Wanucha on June 12, 2015 in Public

Brand-new national public library data is now available from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Fiscal year 2013 data from the annual Public Libraries Survey has just been added to the IMLS Compare Public Libraries and Search for Public Libraries tools. Try out the compare tool to see how your library stacks up to similar libraries across the country based on characteristics you choose. And the search tool is an easy way to pull together staff, budget, services, and collection information for any public library in the U.S. Data files for FY2013 should be available soon!…...

By Meghan Wanucha on June 10, 2015 in School / The Weekly Number

New results from the Colorado Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL Colorado) survey are now available! Administered through the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), this biennial survey asks Colorado teachers and administrators about teaching and learning conditions in their school. The 2015 iteration included two new questions about school libraries and librarians:

• Teachers receive appropriate training and guidance from school library staff to help students to become proficient in 21st century skills.
• Teachers and students have access to current, diverse and ability-appropriate materials through the library.

About 3 out of 4 (74%) respondents agreed or strongly agreed that teachers and students have access...

By Melissa Higgins on June 3, 2015 in School / The Weekly Number

There’s yet more reason to invest in school library programs! Even as the number of endorsed librarians in today’s schools continues its downward trend, studies are consistently finding that there is no substitute for a quality school library program (You can peruse through research done by LRS and other institutions on this subject here). A new study conducted by the Washington Library Media Association (WLMA) and reported by School Library Journal further corroborates these findings. The study, which drew from 1,486 K-12 public schools across Washington state, concludes that students in schools that have a certified teacher-librarian (CTL) are more...

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