Here’s a major report released April 14, 2008 ready to be distributed and digested. It covers school, public and academic libraries. Highlights are in the executive summary but do go download the full report. The price is right.
Stephen
The State of America’s Libraries
Executive Summary
“Libraries are engines of learning, literacy, and economic development
Libraries of all kinds continue to play an expanding role in American communities, serving the needs of patrons of all ages and reaching out to those who have been underserved. In this Report on the State of America’s Libraries 2008, the American Library Association finds that:
School library media centers were in the public eye, but even as their value was ever more widely acknowledged, funding for them continued to lag — and people organized to win support for them.
Americans acknowledged the proven connection between school library media centers and the kind of education that is essential to success in a global society. Studies in 19 states have shown that a strong school library media program helps students learn more and score higher on standardized tests than peers in schools without such programs.1 And it’s clear that students themselves understand this: They make 1.5 billion visits to school library media centers each year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
For the first time ever, funding for school libraries and the school library media specialists who staff them is declining. Nationally, library expenditures per pupil decreased to $13.67 in 2003-2004 from $19.14 in 1999-2000, a drop of almost 30 percent, according to the NCES. They have since dropped to $11.24, according to a 2007 survey.
In Washington state, where only about half the school library media centers have a full-time paid teacher librarian,2 three determined Spokane mothers led a year-long grassroots campaign to secure state funding for school libraries, which currently are funded locally. As the nation’s library officials and legislators watched, the campaign held an all-day summit conference and rally on Feb. 1, 2008, in the state capital. Due in part to their efforts, the state legislature has passed a bill that would institute state funding for school libraries.
Libraries and their supporters rallied behind the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act, introduced in both houses of Congress as a part of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. The SKILLs Act stipulates that every school must have a school library staffed by a state-certified school library media specialist.
The library community also sharpened its focus in 2007 on outreach to underserved and/or isolated populations. A study conducted for the ALA Office for Research & Statistics showed, among other things, that:
Spanish is far and away the most supported non-English language in U.S. public libraries.
The majority of libraries serving non-English speakers are in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents.
Literacy and lack of knowledge of library services are significant barriers for non-English speakers.
Seventy-eight percent of the survey respondents said Spanish was the top-priority non-English language to which they devote services and programs, followed by Asian languages at 29 percent. The ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, Office for Diversity, Public Programs Office, and Public Information Office will use the study data to develop advocacy and training tools for librarians.
Other noteworthy trends in 2007 included:
Americans continue to check out more than 2 billion items each year from their public libraries, and more and more people make use of libraries’ educational and social resources. The average user takes out seven-plus books a year, but patrons also go to their libraries to borrow DVDs, learn new computer skills, conduct job searches, and participate in the activities of local community organizations. Average bill to the taxpayer for this remarkable range of public services: $31 a year, about the cost of one hardcover book.
New studies also offered more detailed data on public libraries as engines of economic growth, highlighting ways in which library programming in early literacy, employment services, and small-business development contributes to local economic development in urban areas. Other studies show that libraries provide an excellent return on investment, have a measurable positive impact on the local economy, and contribute to the stability, safety, and quality of life of their neighborhoods.
Teenagers — far from confining themselves to their school library media centers — are also regular users of public library services. Almost all the nation’s public libraries now offer programs tailored to the needs and interests of young adults, and more than half employ at least one full-time staff equivalent in this area, a sharp increase in the past decade.
Computer and online games have become part of the mix at many public libraries, and some use gaming to attract new patrons. “Libraries’ response to gaming is just another indication that the profession is alert to the needs and desires of its patrons and is aware of the ways in which this interest interconnects with more traditional services, now and in the future,” said ALA President Loriene Roy.
Going to the library is more and more often a virtual outing rather than an actual visit, and growing patron enthusiasm for the computer and Internet services offered by public libraries has stretched existing Internet bandwidth, computer availability, and building infrastructure to capacity. Budgets have not kept up with demand, and many libraries cannot provide enough computers or fast-enough connection speeds to meet patron needs.
E-books continued to emerge as a regular feature of libraries of all types, and the world tried to figure out ways to read them on something handier than a PC or a notebook. Amazon’s pricey Kindle, launched in November, had mixed reviews — and strong sales.
Construction and renovation of libraries not only kept pace with their evolving and expanding needs but provided many structures that are both functional and beautiful.6
Library supporters won an important victory in 2007 when the president signed a bill ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to re-open many of the libraries it had closed in the past year. EPA administrators had said that online functions met the information needs of agency staff, researchers, and the public, but scientists, librarians, EPA staff, and, ultimately, Congress did not agree.
In another important victory, librarians were instrumental in seeing the National Institutes of Health Public Access Policy become mandatory through Congressional action in late December. Taxpayers invest $28 billion annually in the NIH to fund a wide variety of research in health, scientific, and other fields, resulting in more than 60,000 peer-reviewed articles per year. Now, wide, rapid, and easy access to the results of this research will help everyone in community college, college, and university libraries who wishes to apply it or build on it, advancing research and serving the public good.
College and research libraries continue to play a central role in the life of their institutions and to find innovative new ways to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the academy. Academic librarians see an opportunity to serve the emerging and unmet needs of students and faculty that arise in the changing environment of higher education. All types and sizes of academic libraries are major players in the design of economic and efficient business models in support of new educational initiatives such as hybrid classes, community-based partnerships, support for distributed learning, and creation of digital destinations in support of using social networking in the academy.
Finally, libraries and librarians of all stripes continue to stand up for the First Amendment rights of all Americans, responding in public discourse and in court to unconstitutional snooping and aspiring book-banners. The right to read — freely and in private — remains a core value of the profession.
This report presents some of the highlights of 2007 and a summary of where we stand in 2008 as stewards of a venerable and vital American institution — the library.”
Check out the State of America’s Libraries report at
http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/presscentera/piopresskits/2008statereport/2008statehome.cfm
Recent Comments
- Michelle Freeman on Library joy-spreader Mychal Threets is going to be the featured librarian in a new social media series for PBS Kids!
- Susan on ABRAM WHITE PAPER: TESTING AND EVALUATING CHATGPT: A PERSONAL HISTORY FROM RETRIEVAL TO TRANSFORMERS
- Stephen Abram on On LinkedIn librarians and Library Workers are present and it’s important.
- Rachel on July is Disability Pride Month!
- Rachel on On LinkedIn librarians and Library Workers are present and it’s important.
Categories
Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.