This new membership report provides insight into public libraries’ priorities and initiatives, as well as public librarians’ thoughts on future use of the library and the make-up of library service points. The report also examines how public librarians keep current on happenings in the library field.
As noted in the report, most U.S. public library staff:
- Are focusing their priorities on Internet access, demonstrating value to funders and delivering e-content
- Are concentrating on e-books as their top current initiative
- Rely mostly on listservs and e-mail to stay current
These are just a few of the results from the recent OCLC study detailed in “U.S. Public Libraries: A Snapshot of Priorities & Perspectives.” OCLC conducted a survey among thousands of library staff from various types of libraries. This report details the findings from the nearly 1,300 public library staff including directors, managers and librarians who participated in the survey.
A similar report based on OCLC’s survey findings from academic librarians will be published in the coming months.