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Leveraging National Data to Advocate Locally

PEW CENTER REPORTS Created our own infographics Presented at Wisconsin Library Conferences Focus groups, interviews across the state, surveys at conference Grounded Theory analysis services jpg

COMPARE ADVOCATE ASSESS PLAN SERVE CAAPS

of the respondents in the Pew survey say they use the computers at the library or the WIFI connection to go online. 26%

Is this true for you?

COMPARE I think to be able to take this information and put your library in context on a much more, larger picture is good, and compare, "Hey, we're doing this great, but in the big picture... either "We can do better," or, "We're right in there with everybody else.” We don't have enough computers. I mean we have 12 public stations and we’re a rural library and they are always full 100% of the time. We used to have 19, but we couldn’t get enough funding to keep on replacing the ones that died.

of Americans say libraries should “definitely” move some printed books and stacks out of public locations to free up space for tech centers, cultural events, etc. 20%

Is this true for you?

ASSESS There's not enough space. There are too many books. You know, the majority of the people who are using the library, … want to use the internet … and they're shoulder to shoulder. That is not what they deserve! And in order to make room for them … we need to get rid of some of the shelves. They perceive libraries as books....Is that how they are using them, I don't think so.

say that they know all or most of the services their libraries offer now. 22%

Is this true for you?

ADVOCATE I'm like ‘Oh, Look at this report. How great is that report?’ And then later down the road, when we're actually trying to plan something or redo something or just something, I can say, ‘Oh do you remember in the report it said this, maybe we should go this way? The Pew stuff would give it more teeth and that we're not just running amok that we're following national trends and we're keeping up with what is going on.

of adults over age 65 in the PEW survey stated that the library is an important part of the community even though only 20% visit the library at least once a month. 93%

Is this true for you?

PLAN You never think about that when you're thinking about [planning a new dual-use building] and you're with the police... Is this going to scare my patrons away? I think the important thing about using statistics is that you use them carefully and you do it to tell a story because people, they don't really care about statistics, and they're meaningless out of context.

of the respondents in the PEW survey say they visit the library to attend a class, program or lecture for adults. 21%

Is this true for you?

SERVE Some libraries are working hard to get beyond tea and crumpets programming. We're part of the community. We can no longer be the library that is passive, that sits back and waits for people to come to us. We need to be reaching out. We need to be pulling people in.

What do you think of the Pew Reports— are they useful for you?

USEFUL? I think they are fantastic. No, I do. I love information. I love statistics. I love lists. I love people doing this for me. I love being able to look at trends and pull information out and say this is great people are reading books, yay! So yeah, I think it's cool. I think it’s important. Meh.

Other Sources of Statistics IMLS annual public library statistics Harris library surveys PLAmetrics (costs!) Library Research Service’s collection of state stats Participate in research yourself with the Public Library Collaboratory

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