What We Think We Do, What They Think We Do

Another research article to rehash the same ol’ debate. New technology … relevance of the library … digital vs. virtual, etc. This article polls people, asking them about their feelings about the library. Some are nostalgic. Some are idealistic. Some are pessimistic. Some are clueless. But most really like us -- ‘us’ being libraries. However, most probably can’t answer the burning question … why are we – libraries -- here? The purpose of this Pew study was to find out how people are using the library.

Just like any person on the planet, the why is answered when we figure out our purpose.  Are we a speck on a dandelion, like the Whos of Whoville, or are we serving a mission of greater proportions? Does it matter what form that service comes in? Digital, print, in person, virtual? Remember the 1400’s, when print was the new technology? Was there endless debate about the demise of the verbal story teller? If naysayers of the medieval times predicted their end they were wrong. Verbal story telling is still a joy and an art form practiced worldwide. In contrast, the advent of the printed word actually improved the art of story tellers, making is easier to chronicle the tales, creating a way to record and preserve the tales, giving wings to the words, increasing their distribution and exposure.

The digital aspect of library services makes it easier for us to do our jobs better and more efficiently -- no more thumbing through rows of card catalogs. Now, with a short dance of our fingertips across the keyboard, we can search farther and wider. It’s time to embrace the technology, all forms of it. As we are purposed to serve diverse populations, so should our resources be diverse. Cell phones have been the norm for over a decade, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t find a pay phone … but I digress … here’s what the study says:

Americans say libraries are important to their families and their communities, but often do not know all the services libraries offer.

My initial reaction to this research is one of skepticism. The information gathered is based on asking people their opinions. This study states that, “91% of Americans ages 16 and older say public libraries are important to their communities.” Libraries are intrinsically a good thing. Of course people will say they are important. Ask people if they think hospitals are good for the community, or schools, and you will probably get a similar response. Instead, ask people if they want to fund libraries in their community. Then we’ll get a better perspective on how important they really feel they are. This study also states that only “22% say that they know all or most of the services their libraries offer now.”  People think the library is important, but maybe they aren’t utilizing the services. Maybe they never set foot in a library. I think our bigger question should be why, and how can we change this.

Now that we know libraries are perceived as important for communities, we can ask what people do at the library.

This study has a nice chart depicting the different activities people do in their libraries. The #1 reason (73%) is to browse for books and media and to borrow printed material. That is a service we excel at, and is the same thing libraries have been offering since the beginning of time. Here is the part where we can embrace the thing we are doing well. Another reason people visit the library is one of my favorite reasons: “41% say they visit to attend or bring a younger person to a class, program, or event designed for children or teens.” Give your programmers a pat on the back. They are sowing the seeds for a future harvest. Part of this is innovation. It takes some creativity to make fun, exciting and literacy related programs to draw in the crowds. Part of this is nostalgia. The study states, “Those who remember a family member using the library while they were growing up are not only significantly more likely than those with no family experiences to have ever visited a library in person (90% vs. 64%), but are also more likely to have visited a library in the past year (59% vs. 34%).” Most of us who are involved in libraries have a similar feeling, a remembrance or poignant anecdote about how a library experience changed, enhanced, or played an important role in their lives. Was it the books? The staff? The comfy chairs? Or that people do what they have done? Whatever the reason, it is still libraries doing what they do best, offering inviting spaces for education, entertainment, socialization, and more.

Those are warm and fuzzy. People are using the library and carrying on their legacy and tradition. The alarming statistics lie in who is NOT using the library. Those numbers are similar, across age groups, gender, income levels, education levels, race, urban, suburban and rural, somewhere around half of people have not used a library in over a year. At all. I can only speculate as to why this portion of folks are not using their free library services. Perhaps they are unaware. Maybe they have had bad experiences. Maybe they can’t get to the library, they don’t have time, or they just don’t care. This study offers some basic reasons as to why individual library use has declined, but really why people aren’t library users in general. The poll suggests that use waxes and wanes, depending on the season of life people are in. Use during childhood is high, then tapers during teen years, only to increase during higher education endeavors. Parents and retirees rediscover libraries when they introduce them to their kids, or retirement leaves them with an abundance of time on their hands. An interesting statistic showed that “discovering a new library service, such as e-book borrowing, would rekindle their interest in the library—and lead to an increase in use of other services.”

Aside from books and programming, people reported the other services offered by the library to be very important as well. Just under the books, internet use was rated as highly important by 77% of those polled. I noted that the question stressed free internet access, and researchers also stated that they did not ask participants whether they depended on the library’s free internet access. This comes as no surprise to us. We see those who depend on our free internet access on a daily basis. We know it’s important, regardless of the capacity in which it is being utilized.

Part 4 of this expansive study reports what people want from their libraries. I would assume that they are polling people who actually use the library, and not the high percentage of people who do not.

In general, Americans feel somewhat well-informed about the various services offered by their local libraries. While about one in five (22%) feel they are aware of “all or most” of the services and programs their public library offers, a plurality (46%) feel they just know of “some” of what their library offers.

How they got the information is an interesting study in itself, and has been previously reflected on MLS Outreach surveys. The vast majority learn about library events in the library. The following passage is particularly concerning:

Participants pointed out, they probably weren’t going to go to the website to look for events (or even to sign up for email newsletters) unless they already knew that the library had those events. Instead, they said they usually stumbled across listings either at their library in-person, when trying to do something else online, or by seeing signage outside the library as they were driving past.

Many of the librarians in our in-person focus groups agreed that it was difficult to reach patrons and tell them about all the services the library offered. Several said that almost every day, they will be speaking with a patron who had come in for a specific service, and would mention other services or resources and hear the patron reply, “I didn’t know that was available.

This is true in my personal experience. Luckily, MLS has taken action to combat this information gap by advertising on local radio, tv, and even buses and bus stop benches. Our marketing department has award winning creative resources and routinely pumps out promotional material. On more than one occasion, a member of local media has been invited to our libraries to cover programs. What we do is newsworthy, but keeping these details in the forefront of an information saturated society proves to be a major challenge. For example, the after school homework help program offered at the Capitol Hill library has grown exponentially by word of mouth. Based on this study, the amount of people who aren’t using the library, and the number of users who don’t know all that is offered, I would say that making that information known is a key element to increasing library use.
   
So now that we know who is using the library and what they are doing there, we have to wonder what the public considers priority when it comes to library service. Those polled answered the following: “In general, Americans are most adamant that libraries should devote resources to services for children.” Specifically listed was working more closely with public schools, and offering early literacy and reading help to prepare children for school. Next on the list was the preference of having separate spaces for different activities, such as separate children and youth areas, computer rooms, quiet reading areas and the like. Adding more e-books was another popular wish. There were several other ideas listed that are noteworthy.
   
Finally, some innovative new ideas were listed, along with the stats on whether or not people would be apt to use these new, techy services. Most people didn’t have strong opinions on new apps and virtual offerings. The most fun part of this study starts with Part 5 on page 67 when people were asked what libraries good at now. To read these and the entire study, click here. (http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/) It looks like many of the public perceptions of what we should be are also ideas that we are striving for, and are very adept at. Here are some of the things they (customers and librarians) said:   

• “Libraries are community centers.”
• “Provide welcoming spaces where people can gather.”
• “People are often isolated from one another, and the library provides a place to exchange ideas of all sorts.”
• “A public library is a community buying coop. Very few people can afford access to so many resources on their own, so we pool our taxes together to create the collection and services.”
• “The library is the meeting point of knowledge and information”
• “We should be THE destination for parents with young children, both for entertainment and education.”
• “[Libraries] are the poor man's university.”

And how can we accomplish our goal to remain relevant?   

Shush-free zones? Dewy Decimal-less collections? Library kiosks on the community? Traveling-marketing librarians? Mobile services? Loaning out digital equipment? “Maker spaces”? These are all ideas and suggestions. On the flip side, there are those who want a more traditional library space, and those who struggle with offering what the public wants within the confines of strained staff and budgets. There’s a constant tug-of-war between the library shushers and the rollickers.

We have over 150 people on a waiting list for our computer classes to be offered next month. The demand is high but there are just not enough staff and they will not pay for anymore staff.

Everyone struggles to keep up with the changing technology, but that has been part of librarianship for a long time.

And then…

I really don't like what I see at the library I where I work. We're pushing out the patrons who really need us. We're placing too much emphasis on being a place to ‘hang out’ rather than meeting the needs of our patrons. Our administration turns a deaf ear to our pleas for the materials and education our patrons ask us for (more books, classes, etc.) and instead are fixated on e-books and coffee machines.

Somewhere in between Dewey-less collection arrangements and coffee machines, and rotary phones and card catalogues our current library exists. No, we don’t have an app for that, but we don’t have a typewriter either. Perhaps our focus should be on doing well what we are strongest at, and creating an awareness of those strengths to those who don’t know about them.

Perhaps the best advice:

Stop trying to be all things to all people. Find out what communities want from us and provide that service.