Search

This article examines the Internet-related responses of public libraries to the sustained economic downturn of recent years. Following a discussion of the changes to the economy and the expected skills for employment that have resulted from the advent of the Internet, this article presents the services that libraries are providing to help patrons transition to this new economy. Drawn from the findings of the 2011–2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) survey and site visits to public libraries, the data demonstrate the changes in job skills and employment-seeking services since the beginning of the ongoing prolonged economic downturn and the breadth and depth of the electronic information services that libraries currently provide to users. Designed to meet the needs of the local communities that libraries serve, these services rely on the capacities of the Internet, public access technologies, and Internet-enabled services provided by the library. This article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which this research can inform broader explorations of the relationships between libraries, the Internet, the new economy, and twenty-first-century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is an exploratory study of public library services in Singapore for young people (defined as those people between thirteen to nineteen years of age) who are wheelchair bound. The research was carried out originally in 2000, but the study still informs policy makers in the Singapore system. Three main research questions are explored: What are the information needs of wheelchair-bound young people? What are their perceptions of libraries and library services? What are the problems they face in using library facilities and services? The study involves eleven wheelchair-bound people between the ages of twelve and twenty who were selected by means of a purposive sample. Findings indicate that most participants enjoyed reading books but did not read newspapers. The computer was used primarily as a recreational tool, and the convenience of the Internet appealed to them. There were, however, problems in using computer equipment in the libraries. School libraries were generally inaccessible. There were also problems in using public library services and facilities as well as being in public places. Their use of public libraries was infrequent. They were unaware of the full range of library facilities and services. The study concluded that there was a need and demand for library services by wheelchair-bound young people. Their information needs and reading habits were no different from those of any young person. Current library promotions were inadequate in stimulating or sustaining their awareness and interest. Transportation was the main obstacle in getting to libraries. The problems faced in using libraries were mainly related to architectural and physical access to library facilities and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtually every public library in the United States provides public access Internet computers as a role central to its mission. This article addresses the issue of why the Internet matters for public libraries, both in terms of impacts on the general public, particularly the digitally disadvantaged (part one of the article) and impacts on libraries themselves (part two of the article). Each part of this report begins with an extensive literature review, followed by a data analysis section. In part one, the author uses the 2000 United States Census dataset to evaluate library efforts to bridge the digital divide, by analyzing differences in the growth of public terminals in library systems serving counties with different levels of household income, households in poverty, non-white households, and non-English-speaking households. The analysis finds no disparity in the number of public computers available in areas with high and low incomes but finds a significant—and widening—disparity in the number of computers available in areas with a higher versus lower percentage of non-white and non-English-speaking households. In part two of the report, the author uses a random effects linear regression model to estimate the effects of Internet access on library usage. This analysis finds that having Internet terminals (versus having no Internet terminals) has a significant positive effect on a library's visits and reference transactions, but not on a library's circulation. An increase in the number of Internet terminals has no significant effect, positive or negative, on visits, reference transactions, or circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. IMPACT studies have two research projects underway that employ a mixed method research design to develop and validate performance indicators related specifically to the outcomes of public access computing (PAC) use in public libraries. Through the use of a nationwide telephone survey (n = 1130), four case studies, and a nationwide Internet survey of PAC users administered through 636 public libraries, this approach will generate generalizable quantitative data on the extent and distribution of the use of public access computing resources, as well as provide rich contextual data that will help understand how people use the computers and Internet connections in public libraries and the impact it has on their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]