Weak Economy Boosts Library Use

Economy gets people out of the house, into libraries: Study shows more checkouts in hard times Houston Chronicle: 8.02.08 by Terry Oblander

Books and other items are flowing out of public libraries in record numbers as the price of gas goes up and the economy sours.

Librarians throughout Northeast Ohio report seeing more people coming through their doors and leaving with more books, movies and CDs than ever.

But that's what librarians have noticed based on anecdotal evidence dating to the Great Depression. Could it be true ?

The American Library Association commissioned a study that covered usage from January 1997 to December 2001. That period included a recession and the terrorist attacks in New York City.

"This data confirms what librarians have seen from experience — that in times of economic difficulties people turn to their libraries and librarians," said ALA President John Berry in a release.

And, Lynda Murray, director of government relations for the Ohio Library Council, said there was no doubt that some patrons are beating a path to the library in hopes of finding jobs, using library computers or scouring newspapers for leads. READ MORE

Voters and Public Library Funding: An OCLC Market Research Report
Infotoday.com: 7.21.08: by Barbara Quint

Public libraries are in trouble. Costs and demands for their services continue to rise, while revenue and support for maintaining, much less increasing, financial support continue to sink.

The problem should pose real concerns for information industry vendors selling into the public library marketplace. Now one of the leading library vendors, one not only serving that market but—in a sense—owned and operated by that market, has begun a move toward helping public libraries find the funding they need. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and hard work by Leo Burnett USA, OCLC has produced a report titled "From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America."

As the introduction to the study reports, library visits went up 19% from 2000 to 2005, circulation of library materials rose 20%, and access to public computers rose 86%.

Nonetheless, "[l]ibrary levies, referenda, and bond measures have been failing at an increasing rate over the past decade. And the number of library levies placed on a ballot for voter consideration is also in decline."

The study provides detailed voter segmentation and analysis of groups on the basis of their likelihood to support library funding. It also covers, to a much lesser degree, the thinking of a small group of elected officials bearing some responsibility for library funding decisions. The report could assist librarians in targeting their messages to the right segments. One interesting factor revealed in the study is that library funding support is only marginally related to library visitation and use. READ MORE