Since June 2010, broadband availability at all speed levels has increased and basic broadband service is nearly universal in urban areas. While there is still a gap in broadband availability between urban and rural areas, 91 percent of rural Americans have access to basic broadband service as of June 2012.
While basic broadband service – which we define as advertised speeds of 3 Mbps download and 768 kbps upload – is often adequate for sending and receiving email and other services, more of today’s applications such as video streaming require much faster speeds. Across the country, broadband availability at higher speed levels has increased significantly since 2010, with the greatest gains in urban areas. Our data show that 88 percent of urban areas and 41 percent of rural areas now have access to broadband speeds of 25 Mpbs. While they have yet to match the speeds available from wired services, access to wireless broadband services also has increased dramatically from 2010 to 2012,
Other highlights from the Broadband Brief include:
Changes: Between June 2010 and June 2012, national broadband availability increased at all advertised speed levels. During both years, the greatest rates of change occurred in the higher speed tiers, beginning with the 25 Mbps or greater tier. The percentage of Americans with access to broadband with speeds of 25 Mbps or greater has grown from nearly 50 percent in 2010 to more than 78 percent in 2012.
Technologies: Cable is the primary technology that providers use to offer services of at least 25 Mbps or greater but less than 1 Gbps. At 3/768, 87 percent of the population has access to broadband via cable, 74 percent get this type of broadband from DSL providers and 20 percent get this broadband from fiber deployments.
Rural/Urban: Almost 100 percent of urban residents have access to download speeds of at least 6 Mbps, while 82 percent of rural communities can access these speeds.
Counties: In almost 59 percent (1,896) of U.S. counties, at least 95 percent of the population has access to speeds of 3/768; and in just under 10 percent (317) of counties, at least 95 percent of the population has access at 25 Mbps.
The survey, funded and guided by Jisc and RLUK and conducted on their behalf by the not-for-profit research organisation Ithaka S+R, received 3,498 responses, (a response rate of 7.9%). The survey covers a range of areas from how academics discover and stay abreast of research, to their teaching of undergraduates. How they choose research topics and publication channels, to their views on learned societies and university libraries, and their collections.
Overarching themes are an increasing reliance on the Internet for their research and publishing activities, and the strong role that openness is playing in their work. Key findings include:
Access limitations– While 86% of respondents report relying on their college or university library collections and subscriptions, 49% indicated that they would often like to use journal articles that are not in those collections. (Figure 19, page 37)
Use of open resources – If researchers can’t find the resources or information they need through their university library, 90% of respondents often or occasionally look online for a freely available version. (Figures 21, page 40.)
The Internet as starting point – 40% of researchers surveyed said that when beginning a project they start by searching the internet for relevant materials, with only 2% visiting the physical library as a first port of call. (Figure 6, page 22.)
Following one’s peers– The findings suggest that the majority of researchers track the work of colleagues and leading researchers as a way of keeping up to date with developments in their field. (Figure 9, page 26.)
Emergence of e-publications– The findings show that e-journals have largely replaced physical usage for research, but that contrasting views exist on replacement of print by e-publications, where print still holds importance within the Humanities and Social Sciences and for in-depth reading in general. (Figure 16, page 34and Figures 10-13, pages 28-31.)
A Bit More From the Executive Summary/Key Findings
Decisive shares of scientist and medical and veterinary respondents are comfortable with the transition to electronic-only publishing and collecting for journal current issues, and majorities are comfortable with the deaccessioning of journal backfiles. Six out of 10 respondents overall reports having used a scholarly monograph in digital form in the past six months, but while significant shares like e-books for exploratory uses a majority prefers print for in-depth reading.
Freely available materials are seen to be having a real impact on access. Academic libraries collections are most likely to be seen as an important source for providing journal articles and books for research and teaching purposes, but following closely in second place are freely available materials online.
When an item is not held in the library collection, the highest share of respondents report that they look for a freely available version online, while the second highest share gives up, both of which outrank using the library’s interlending or document supply service. Disciplinary groupings differ noticeably in several cases in their access practices. Overall, a third of respondents report that they can almost always get satisfactory access to needed journal articles not immediately available through their institution.
Overall, about 45% of respondents indicated that they would describe themselves as very dependent on their college or university library for the research they conduct. Almost all respondents rate the library’s role as a purchaser of needed resources as very important, while other roles are less universally indicated as important.”
This research has found that public libraries are trusted spaces, open to all, in which people continue to explore and share the joys of reading, information, knowledge and culture. It is clear that people value the services that libraries provide and will continue to do so. Indeed, there is a clear message that there is a compelling and continuing need for a publicly funded library service.
The research also reminds us that public libraries face many challenges in the coming years, including: advances in technology, which affect the ways in which people want to connect to information and culture; reduced public expenditure; the increasing involvement of citizens in the design and delivery of public services; and the needs of an ageing population.
Envisioning the library of the future and the work that comes from it will help us and our partners in the library sectorto set out the value, role and purpose of public libraries with more clarity, pointing out ways they can respond to change in order to remain at the heart of their communities. This will provide the focus for our work in the future.
The research began in January 2012, and comprised three phases during which researchers spoke with more than 800 people. The research included an online survey which had over 1,400 responses, and 10,000 people viewed the online conversation. Read more on the research methodology.
Four priority areas
In order to foster a successful, sustainable library service in light of these challenges, the Arts Council has set out four priority areas for development which have been tested and corroborated by stakeholders:
place the library as the hub of the community
make the most of digital technology and creative media
ensure that libraries are resilient and sustainable
deliver the right skills for those who work in libraries
I used to work for an accounting firm and when they said this . . . I noted that online tax software made them irrelevant . . and the accountants were irrelevant because there was Excel . . .
There’s always a metaphor for making the point that access and software don’t replace professionals – unless of course they’re doing something that can be easily automated instead of delivering real value . . .
Stephen
Posted on: May 23, 2013, 6:57 amCategory: Uncategorized
Stephen Abram is a librarian and consultant with Lighthouse Partners and Dysart & Jones. He blogs on library strategies for direction, marketing, technology and user alignment.
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