Survey of USA libraries finds perception of good value, but poor marketing

Survey of USA libraries finds perception of good value, but poor marketing

Jan 23 2013

The singular most important finding in the latest Pew study, Library Services in the Digital Age, is that libraries - in the opinion of most Americans - aren’t just about books. 80% of U.S. residents say that lending books is a "very important" service, but they rate the help they get from reference librarians as equally important. And nearly the same number, 77%, reported that free access to technology and the Internet is also very important.

Of those who have used a library, 98% rated the experience as very or mostly positive. 76% say that libraries are important to them and their families and 91% rated libraries as either very important or somewhat important for their community.

These high positives are despite the fact that most respondents have little idea of the range of services that their library offers. Just 22% know "all or most" of what their library offers, 46% know some of what’s going on with the remaining 31% are pretty much clueless.

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