A collaboration between ULC and the School of Informatics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Study Results by George D'Elia. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The results of this survey indicate that, among youth at this time, use of the Internet and use of the public library are complementary activities. Having Internet access at home has not affected whether or not youth visit the library; however, Internet access at home appears to have affected the frequency with which youth visit the library. Either youth without Internet access at home are using the library more frequently, or youth with Internet access.
Use of the Internet appears to have diminished youth's need to use the public library as a source of personal information; however, use of the Internet appears not to have affected youth's use of the public library for school work or for recreation.
Given, for youth, the near universal availability of access to the Internet from a variety of sources, the public library is now one of many sources of Internet access and it is the least frequently used source of access by youth. Access to the Internet at the public library, when used by youth, appears now to be just another one of the regular services available at the library.
While the role of the public library in serving the needs of the "have-nots" among youth across the digital divide continues, the public library is not the primary source of Internet access for these youth. The public library is now just one of many sources of Internet access for these youth. The reader is cautioned, however, that this generalization does not hold for all communities - especially those communities and their public libraries where access to the Internet is still very limited. There are differences among communities and, consequently, differences among the libraries which serve those communities. Note that this generalization applies only to youth; it does not apply to adults who are among the "have-nots" across the digital divide.
The Urban Libraries Council recently collaborated with the School of Informatics at the State University of New York at Buffalo to investigate whether youth's use of the Internet was affecting youth's use of the public library. The project designed and conducted a survey of 4,237 youths in both public and private schools (grades 5 through 12) in the Buffalo-Niagara region of Western New York State. The study was funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Regents of the State of New York. The project team consisted of Dr. George D'Elia, Dr. June Abbas, and Dr. Kay Bishop of the School of Informatics, and Dr. Don Jacobs of the Graduate School of Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Joey Rodger, former President of the Urban Libraries Council, was a co-investigator on the project.
(Read full report)
New Field Data on Metropolitan Libraries
Highlights:
Despite widespread state and local budget retrenchment, more libraries experienced increases in general operating revenues from 2002 to 2003, than experienced decreases.
Governance structures have not changed significantly over the past five years - most public libraries are county or city departments, and the remainder are a mix of special districts, independent agencies and non-profit organizations.
Local funding is still the major source of public library revenues, with over half of the libraries receiving dedicated property taxes.
Many libraries have been actively using budget management tools to realign their organizations and to provide their communities with new collection formats (e.g. digital databases, CDs and DVDs), new programs and new facilities.
New streams of revenue are being explored by public libraries, including entrepreneurial ventures such as bookstores, coffee shops and event space leasing. Two out of three libraries have active foundations that raise money from individuals, corporations and foundations.
Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums & Public Broadcasters Working Together
In the area of free-choice-learning, public libraries, museums, and public radio and television experiment with groundbreaking collaborative activities. ULC's research provides a snapshot of these activities and highlights opportunities for expanding partnerships to better meet individual and community learning needs.
Authored by researchers at the Urban Institute, Chris Walker and Carlos A. Manjarrez, this publication highlights the project research findings, starting with the framework that all four institutions are in the learning business. It is individual motivations and learning preferences that drive use of the resources of the four institutions, and it is the interests of individuals and communities that these institutions must respond to. In this publication you will find highlights of successful partnerships, common risks, strategies to avoid risks, and ways to anticipate the changes and management challenges of partnerships over time.
This project was funded by the Institute for Museum & Library Services.
Authored by researchers at the Urban Institute, Chris Walker and Carlos A. Manjarrez, this publication highlights the project research findings, starting with the framework that all four institutions are in the learning business. It is individual motivations and learning preferences that drive use of the resources of the four institutions, and it is the interests of individuals and communities that these institutions must respond to. In this publication you will find highlights of successful partnerships, common risks, strategies to avoid risks, and ways to anticipate the changes and management challenges of partnerships over time.
Read the entire report here.
National Survey of Institutional Collaborations
Review the results of the national survey of 925 institutions (public libraries, museums, public radio and public television) conducted by George D'Elia and Corinne Jorgensen at the School of Informatics, State University of New York at Buffalo. Both institutional Chief Executive Officers (CEOS) and project staff responded to the survey. The survey asked for CEO assessments of institutional characteristics, assets, impacts of collaboration on the institution, and perceptions about the characteristics and assets of partner institutions. The study was funded by a grant from the Institute for Museum & Library Services.
George D'Elia and Corinne Jorgensen. 2003
 Public Library Services to New Americans: Speeding Transitions to Learning, Work and Life in the U.S.
Public libraries are mobilizing to understand and address the diverse needs of New Americans, residents who have come to the U.S. either as immigrants or refugees.
The ease and speed with which New Americans assimilate into the U.S. culture is assisted by active two-way exchanges – the community learning about the cultures these new residents come from and the new arrivals understanding and tapping into community resources that help them adjust to and thrive in their new homes. This work fits naturally within the public library values of providing resources and paths for continuous learning and access to all. Strengths libraries contribute to communities experiencing an influx of multicultural residents are:
- Identifying newcomers. Public libraries are becoming savvy at learning where New American populations are residing and working in their service areas.
- Welcoming New Americans. Public libraries are using multilingual signage and training staff for multilingual and multicultural customer service, as well as developing collections in community languages, bridging homelands and new environments.
- Connecting New Americans to key community resources. Libraries, both alone and with community partners, are developing many services that meet specific needs of new immigrants, such as English language instruction, civics education, job search and business start-up assistance, literacy support for families, technology training, and homework help for youth.
Executive Summary
The overwhelming message of this report is that Silents, Boomers, and Xers are as similar as they are different.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers all like their jobs and are generally happy in their work
- Silents, Boomers and Xers are equally likely to mange people, projects, both, or neither.
- All three groups were equally likely to have spoken only one language before age 13 and to have lived in more than one country.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers are equally likely (or unlikely) to report that they do business in more then one language, that they work with people in more than one time zone, and that they do not travel to another country for their job.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers are all equally likely to work on weekends, and are equally unlikely to report that they are working on a flexible time schedule.
- When organizational level is controlled for, the data indicate that Silents, Boomers and Xers work about the same number of hours in a day and in a week.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers all report that they are more likely to use on the job training, discussion groups, and peer interaction for learning soft skills.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers all report that they are more likely to use live classroom instruction, on the job training and workbooks/manuals for learning hard or technical skills.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers are equally likely to agree that having a mentor/coach is useful for career development, and do not differ significantly in their preferences in mentors.
- Silents, Boomers and Xers who responded all prefer working with a coach face to face.
- Boomers are more likely then either Silents or Xers to report that they are currently providing financial support for children and are taking care of family members other than children such as elderly parents.
- Xers are more likely then Boomers or Silents to report that they currently speak a second language, and that they have traveled internationally before age of 18.
- In reference to the question “Do you see yourself being with your organization in three years?” Boomers are significantly more likely to answer “yes”, Silents are significantly more likely to answer “no”, and Xers are significantly more likely to answer “not sure”.
- Xers are significantly more likely than are Silents or Boomers to report that they are currently enrolled in classes/school.
- Boomers and Xers would both like to interact with their mentors at least monthly if not weekly
- Xers overwhelmingly want the focus of their mentoring/coaching relationship to be on their career, while Silents and Boomers are interested in the focus being on the job and leadership development as well.
Question: What challenges are you facing as you assess of define your career?
Answer: Several different themes emerged in response to this question, including development, balance, change & technology, resources, and leadership/management. While almost all of the prominent themes were shared across generations, different cohorts did mention than with different frequencies.
Question: In order for your organization to retain you as a committed employee, what would/will your organization have to do?
Answer: All generations more frequently cited compensation (including monetary compensation and other non-monetary benefits) in response to this question. Other prominent themes included growth and opportunity, development, respect, and challenge.
Question: Why would you prefer this person (as a couch or mentor)?
Answer: All generations most frequently cited expertise as the most important quality in a coach or mentor. They also mentioned experience, organizational knowledge and rapport as reasons to choose a coach or mentor.
Question: Why would you prefer this medium (face to face, electronic, telephone, etc.) for interaction? (with a mentor/coach)
Answer: All generations discussed the importance of choosing a coaching medium that would support non-verbal communication, a give and take in the discussion, verbal nuance, and convenience. Most of their answers showed an implicit or explicit preference for face to face interaction.
Question: What skills do you need to develop to be successful as a coach?
Answer: Respondents of all generations most frequently said that they needed more experience or knowledge to be an effective coach. They also mentioned the need for more knowledge or experience in their own job, knowledge of management, organizational knowledge, and communication skills.
Question: What challenges have you faced of are you facing working with people form other generations?
Answer: All generations cited challenges with both those older than themselves and those younger than themselves. Some comments were positive or non-evaluative and stressed differences. Others were explicitly negative toward another age group. All generations mentioned challenges regarding change and technology, culture or outlook, communication, and work ethics.
Question: In addition to the methods that have been mentioned, do you have any preferences for learning new information?
Answer: All generations showed a preference for action learning, courses and conferences, and personal interaction as ways to learn new information. |
