scholarly journals The Socioeconomic Profile of Well-Funded Public Libraries: A Regression Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Michael Carlozzi
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
State Level ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Library Funding ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Socioeconomic Profile ◽  
Socioeconomic Data ◽  
To Receive

Abstract Objective – This study aimed to explore the well-established link between public library funding and activity, specifically to what extent socioeconomic factors could explain the correlation. Methods – State-level data from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners were analyzed for 280 public libraries using two linear regression models. These public libraries were matched with socioeconomic data for their communities. Results – Confirming prior research, a library’s municipal funding correlated strongly with its direct circulation. In terms of library outputs, the municipal funding appeared to represent a library’s staffing and number of annual visitations. For socioeconomic factors, the strongest predictor of a library’s municipal appropriation was its “number of educated residents.” Other socioeconomic factors were far less important. Conclusion – Although education correlated strongly with library activity, variation within the data suggests that public libraries are idiosyncratic and that their funding is not dictated exclusively by the community’s socioeconomic profile. Library administrators and advocates can examine what libraries of similar socioeconomic profiles do to receive additional municipal funding.

scholarly journals A State-Level Socioeconomic Data Collection of the United States for COVID-19 Research

Data ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Dexuan Sha ◽  
Anusha Srirenganathan Malarvizhi ◽  
Qian Liu ◽  
Yifei Tian ◽  
You Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dynamic Factor ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Socioeconomic Determinant ◽  
Socioeconomic Data ◽  
The Impact

The outbreak of COVID-19 from late 2019 not only threatens the health and lives of humankind but impacts public policies, economic activities, and human behavior patterns significantly. To understand the impact and better prepare for future outbreaks, socioeconomic factors play significant roles in (1) determinant analysis with health care, environmental exposure and health behavior; (2) human mobility analyses driven by policies; (3) economic pressure and recovery analyses for decision making; and (4) short to long term social impact analysis for equity, justice and diversity. To support these analyses for rapid impact responses, state level socioeconomic factors for the United States of America (USA) are collected and integrated into topic-based indicators, including (1) the daily quantitative policy stringency index; (2) dynamic economic indices with multiple time frequency of GDP, international trade, personal income, employment, the housing market, and others; (3) the socioeconomic determinant baseline of the demographic, housing financial situation and medical resources. This paper introduces the measurements and metadata of relevant socioeconomic data collection, along with the sharing platform, data warehouse framework and quality control strategies. Different from existing COVID-19 related data products, this collection recognized the geospatial and dynamic factor as essential dimensions of epidemiologic research and scaled down the spatial resolution of socioeconomic data collection from country level to state level of the USA with a standard data format and high quality.

scholarly journals Interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries: A mixed methods study

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Wakeling ◽  
Sophie Rutter ◽  
Briony Birdi ◽  
Stephen Pinfield
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Funding ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents the results of a mixed methods study of interlending and resource sharing in UK public libraries, based on the results of a survey distributed to both senior library managers and interlending staff, and in-depth follow-up interviews with 20 respondents. We present an analysis of perspectives towards rates of interlending, the rationales and strategies for providing the service, the perceived value for money offered by various interlending schemes, the impact of the current digital environment, and views on the future of interlending in the UK. Our findings suggest that while interlending services are undoubtedly threatened by the drastic cuts to public library funding, and that demand for the service is more generally in decline, resource sharing is viewed by some as a potential means of mitigating the effects of increasingly limited acquisitions budgets, and ensuring the public library system continues to provide access to a wide range of resources for its users.

scholarly journals Survey Applies Public Collection Development Librarians' Support for Intellectual Freedom to Collection Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-247
Author(s):  
Laura Costello
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Intellectual Freedom ◽  
Collection Development ◽  
Professional Beliefs ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Library Funding

A Review of: Oltmann, S. M. (2019). Important factors in Midwestern public librarians’ views on intellectual freedom and collection development: Part 2. The Library Quarterly, 89(2), 156-172. https://doi.org/10.1086/702203 Abstract Objective – To explore how librarian attitudes regarding intellectual freedom and demographic factors influence collection development decisions.  Design – Online survey. Setting – Public libraries in the Midwestern United States. Subjects – 645 collection development library professionals employed in public libraries. Methods – An electronic survey was distributed to 3,018 public library directors in nine Midwestern states and completed by the library professional primarily responsible for collection development (Oltmann, 2019, p. 6). The survey had a 21.37% response rate. The survey focused on intellectual freedom in the management of collections and probed the participants for their experiences and influences in making collection development decisions. The survey also asked participants to make hypothetical purchasing and holdings decisions for library materials based on a short description of the material. Main Results – Participants indicated that they used a variety of different tools for the selection of materials including patron requests. Of the participants, 45.7% indicated that their library had a policy, practice, or metric to assess the balance of their collections, while 54.3% indicated that their libraries did not have policy or method in place for ensuring that their collection was balanced. Of the respondents, 73.4% felt that local community values should be considered in collection development decision, but 62.3% said that this should not be the most important factor in decisions. Overall, the political leaning of the community did not have an impact on participants’ alignment with the ALA's stances on intellectual freedom. Most respondents (73.4%) felt that government library funding bodies should have an influence over collection development decisions. Some respondents indicated they felt internal pressure from other library staff or the library board to purchase particular materials (28.1%) or relocate materials (14.1%). Respondents also indicated that they felt external pressure from their communities to purchase (32%) or restrict or withdraw (19.1%) materials. In the hypothetical purchasing scenario, most librarians indicated that they would purchase the majority of items. Some participants (39.8%) felt tension between their personal and professional views on intellectual freedom. Conclusion – The first part of this article found that holding an MLS degree had a significant impact on participants' stance on intellectual freedom and alignment with the American Library Association (ALA) principles. This part indicated that they also felt greater pressure to withdraw, acquire, and manage particular materials in their collections and felt more tension between their personal and professional stances on intellectual freedom. Age, gender, duration of work, and community political affiliations significantly impacted only some of the participants' responses. Overall, there was general support for intellectual freedom and alignment with the ALA principles; however, 40% of respondents indicated tension between their personal and professional beliefs about intellectual freedom. 

Library marketing via social media

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 940-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soohyung Joo ◽  
Namjoo Choi ◽  
Tae Hyun Baek
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Media Content ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Library Marketing

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore what kinds of social media content public libraries create to communicate with users online, and to examine the relationships between social media content types and corresponding levels of user engagement.Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprises 4,637 Facebook posts collected from 151 public libraries across the USA. The authors identified ten types of Facebook posts based on the open coding, and calculated the degrees of user engagement for each type of Facebook post, represented by the numbers of likes, shares and comments. Also, The authors examined the effects of the inclusions of images or video clips on user engagement.FindingsThe authors observed that the most frequent type of post was related to announcing upcoming events held in libraries. This study also found that posts about community news or emotionally inspiring messages elicited much engagement from users. Posts having an image or images tend to receive more user engagement.Practical implicationsBased on the findings of this study, the authors discussed practical strategies for public libraries to effectively use social media to better facilitate user engagement.Originality/valueThis study is one of a few attempts that examine the relationships between the types of social media content and the degrees of user engagement in public library environments. Also, the authors have proposed a coding scheme useful to analyze social media content in the context of public libraries.

scholarly journals Cross-Generation Analysis of e-Book Consumers’ Preferences—A Prerequisite for Effective Management of Public Library

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Viktor Prokop ◽  
Jan Stejskal
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Logistic Models ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Library Management ◽  
Information Preferences ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
To Receive

Nowadays, with the growing importance of providing digital services, public libraries offer a wide range of e-books. However, current studies show that reading preferences vary across countries, and identifying e-book demand is therefore difficult. For these reasons, this article focuses on different groups of e-book readers (pensioners, students, economically active) and on factors affecting their attitude to reading e-books, willingness to receive new library services and willingness to pay for them. For the purpose of this analysis, we are using unique data from an online questionnaire survey among readers of the Municipal Library of Prague in 2019 and own binary logistic models. The results show how e-book genres, information preferences and devices for reading e-books primarily affect selected groups of e-book readers. The unwillingness of e-book readers to pay for library services is also evident, especially among students. In the last section, we propose some practical implications that could help to library management and possibly attract more e-book readers from different groups.

Influences on New Jersey public library budget requests

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith K. Beckett
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Library Directors ◽  
Funding Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Funding

Purpose This research study aims to examine influences on the public library funding decision from the perspectives of New Jersey mayors and public library directors. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis was used to explore statements of 84 public library directors and 45 mayors about what was most/least effective in a recent library budget request. Findings Although they may differ on the relative importance of a specific concept, the public library directors and mayors in this study have high levels of agreement about what information is important in the budget decision process. Research limitations/implications The primary limitations of the findings of this study stem from the reliability of self-reported data and the low response rates. While the researcher believes that the findings and conclusions are valid for the survey respondents, it is less certain that they are valid for all public libraries in New Jersey, and it is not recommended that the conclusions be extended to public libraries outside of the state which differ in state mandates and other circumstances. Practical implications Understanding more about the factors that can influence library funding decisions provides insight into the very complex public library funding process and may help public library directors and mayors engage in mutually satisfactory budget negotiations. Originality/value This study contributes to the Library and Information Science research literature on library budgets by examining influences on the public library funding decision, specifically adding the perspectives of mayors and public library directors on a recent budget cycle.

The potential of continuous library and information education within the context of the Model Standard of Public Library

2017 ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galina Kuzichkina ◽  
Alexander Mazuritsky
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Single System ◽  
Library And Information Education

The authors discuss the problems of library and information education. The lack of a single system of life-long education in the library industry is stressed. The Model Standard of Public Libraries as a reference point for education reinvention is analyzed. The main vectors of public libraries activities defined in the Model Standard are considered, along with the desirable professional competences. The ratio of the libraries’ main tasks and functionalities and the professional education is examined.

Influence of Information Literacy Competencies on Users of the Saulsville Public Library, South Africa

Mousaion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rexwhite Tega Enakrire ◽  
Isaac Mpho Mothiba
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Information Discovery ◽  
Information Literacy Competencies

Information literacy competencies indicate the ability of an individual to apply a certain search strategy of information discovery, to understand its design, to value judgement, and to use it in various contents and contexts. The influence of information literacy competencies plays an important role in enabling information users to meet their information needs and prepares them for lifelong learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of information literacy competencies of users in the Saulsville public library, South Africa. The rationale was a lack of awareness and the inability of the users to find their information needs based on the task and decision at hand. The descriptive survey design adopted for this study made use of a questionnaire to collect data from 1 120 registered members of the Saulsville library. Of the 1 120 registered users being the population for the study, the authors purposively used 10 per cent (112 members) of the population as sample size. The findings revealed that users of the Saulsville public library had limited awareness and competencies of information literacy. The users were exposed to some form of library orientation and the use of library resources during their visit to the library. The findings further indicated that the users’ information literacy competencies were affirmed through the quality of information obtained and the satisfaction of library services rendered by library staff. The study recommends the acquisition of new technologies that could enhance users’ interactive information literacy training in public libraries and formal education settings.  

Understanding the Roles of Public Libraries in (Inter)National Development: Lessons from India

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit K Pyati
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
National Development ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Information Policy ◽  
Library Development ◽  
State Actors

This paper focuses on the roles of public libraries in overall plans and schemes for Indian national development, focusing on issues of power and representation. The roles of state and non-state actors in Indian public library development are explored within the context of larger international information policy and development debates.Cet article porte sur les rôles des bibliothèques publiques dans les plans et les schémas globaux du développement national de l'Inde, et plus précisément sur les enjeux de pouvoir et de représentation. Seront explorés les rôles de l'état et des autres intervenants dans le développement des bibliothèques publiques indiennes dans le contexte de politiques d'information plus vastes et des débats sur le développement. 

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