This research brief describes recent methodological initiatives with the Public Libraries Survey. It describes how starting with the 2022 data, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) updated geographic identifiers to better align Census Bureau geography types with the library's legal service area, with the goal of enabling data users to…

A significant number of distance students report they "stray" from their home universities by using local libraries, despite the fact that distance education librarians work hard to provide customized resources and services tailored to their programs and needs. Are public libraries and special libraries able to meet the research needs of…

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) is a voluntary survey conducted annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS collects these data under the mandate in the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 as stated in Section 210. The U.S. Census Bureau is the data collection agent for IMLS. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 survey is the…

Managers of public libraries have been presented with a new set of challenges in the day-to-day operations of public libraries. These include their ability to serve as change agents as they manage the use of continuing online distance learning (CODL) for staff. This online tool may provide staff opportunities for on-the-job learning, yet for…

Twenty per cent of 8400 questionnaires distributed in 1977 to a representative sampling of public libraries throughout Massachusetts were returned and analyzed. Those returned were entirely representative of the state's population and of the size of library services represented, although communities with the most "active" library…

Presents the rationale, method, results, analysis, and discussion of a survey of public libraries in the United States and Canada which asked for sex of director, director's salary, director's length of tenure, size of population served, per capita support, and beginning professional salary. This study extends work by Carpenter and Shearer (1972).…

This how-to-do-it guide for Oklahoma public libraries to use in evaluating their performance defines the individual performance measures, explains the data collection and analysis procedures, shows example calculations, and discusses the analysis and presentation of the performance measures. The performance measures are presented in terms of the…

The purpose of the California State Library-sponsored project, InFoPeople, is to enhance access to information resources by providing points of public access to the Internet in public libraries throughout the state of California. This Stage 1 report represents an initial set of findings and issues related to the InFoPeople project and provides the…

Undertaken to secure hard data on the nature and extent of American public library holdings of adult non-fiction books in the humanities, this study of 19 library collections of varying sizes used an inductive approach for evaluating books based on the frequency of their citation in selected reference tools. Five points summarize the findings: (1)…

Presents tables of salaries of public library directors taken from larger tables in an article entitled "Salaries of Municipal Officers for 1988" by Catherine M. Conlow. The salary data are classified by size of population served, geographic region, city type, and form of government. (CLB)

Discusses methodological issues in cross-cultural studies of diverse communities, including language problems, data collection and analysis, sample size, and dissemination of findings. A study of the information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers in several communities in California is described. Suggestions are given for public…

This is both a descriptive study of the physical and social climate of nursing homes for the use of print and other media, and a study of public library service to older adults and to residents of nursing homes in Wisconsin. It includes a detailed description of public library service to older adults and nursing home residents to provide a basis…

The Detroit Metropolitan Region, including six countries in southeastern Michigan, is the focus for the Detroit Metropolitan Library Research and Demonstration Project. This document provides background data on the region for the Project. Data included are (1) population, (2) educational facilities, (3) numbers of elementary and secondary pupils…

Describes a nationwide survey of library school students, faculty, and directors of large public libraries which asked them to rank 18 values in order of personal importance. Results showing generally similar value orientations but with several significant specific differences are discussed. References are included. (Author/BK)

Reports the results of "Library Journal's" 1995 national budget survey of 1,624 small, medium, and large public libraries which asked how funding changed over the last fiscal year. Per capita spending, materials budget, salaries, political issues, and staffing are discussed, and tables show survey results. (LRW)