Pew recently released a new study about reading, and NPR reported that "8 in 10 Americans under the age of 30 have read a book in the past year. And that's compared to about 7 in 10 adults in general, American adults.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently released the latest report in their series Libraries in the Digital Age. The new report is Libraries, patrons, and eBooks and reveals more data on how our customers use our libraries. The authors report on surveys conducted with library users regarding their use of the library, especially how often they use eBooks.
Michael Connelly, best-selling author of The Fifth Witness, calls libraries “a societal tent pole. There are lots of ideas under it. Knock out the pole and the tent comes down.”
The tent is a little shaky. At least for now, it’s still standing.
Part of my personal philosophy in regard to reference service is that I will do everything in my power to make sure that my customers leave with some sort of answer. Whether it’s the answer they came in for or a referral to another place that can answer it, I figure every customer is precious and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they leave the library a little bit wiser than when they came in. But we’ve all had those times when we just can’t come up with the best answer for your customer.
Most librarians wait with bated breath to read ALA’s annual report on the state of America’s libraries. This year’s report is as interesting as previous years, chock full of charts, graphs, and statistical data covering such topics as: top 10 frequently challenged books; the publishing industry’s push to limit library ebook lending; increased usage of library resources during the Great Recession of 2011; navigating the “new normal” of slashed budgets; and more!
If you haven’t quite caught the e-reading bug yet, you’re still in the majority – but for how long? The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released the study, The Rise of e-Reading as part of their larger Libraries in the Digital Age series and it has some interesting information about who uses e-reading devices and how they use them.
Yippee! The 1940 Census has been released to the public! Well, if you weren’t already excited, you might want to hold off…it’s not ready for prime time yet. Library staff may begin receiving calls from eager customers, however, so here’s a quick rundown on what we need to know for the time being.
