From a new Harris Poll on libraries, some useful snippets for future use:
66% of American adults are either extremely (24%) or very (42%) satisfied with their public library. This number represents a seven percentage-point increase from the 59% of Americans who indicated the same in 2008. An additional two in ten (20%) are “somewhat” satisfied.
Yay, numbers are up!
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,306 U.S. adults surveyed online between July 16 and 21, 2014.
Oh … data comes from an online survey. How might that influence the overall pool of available respondents when we consider issues of Internet access that persist in rural or low-income areas.
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Higher levels of education coincide with higher likelihood to have a library card. Adults who have completed a postgraduate degree are the most likely to have a library card (79%), followed by a near-tie between college graduates (67%) and those who have completed some college (66%). Americans who have a high school education or less are the least likely to have a library card (58%).
Consider that last sentence: 42% of Americans with a high school diploma or less have library cards. When I think about the real power of library makerspaces, I think about yes, how we can provide more and better services for existing patrons. But I also think about how makerspaces can bring in new skillsets and new patrons. If it’s still fair to equate levels of education to interest in readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmatic at least in general terms (and is it?) then we have to take a moment to ask ourselves how libraries can serve those who perhaps are less-entranced with books. Can makerspaces in libraries signal that more in the community should feel welcome? After all,
when asked how important it is that a child have one of his or her own, 89% of U.S. adults believe it is important, with 56% finding it to be very important.
What role does a library play in a community?
Nine in ten Americans (89%) feel it is important that a library be a valuable education resource, with the majority of adults specifying they feel this is very important (59%). Meanwhile, just over three-fourths of adults consider it existing as a pillar of the community to be important (77%). In addition, roughly seven in ten Americans agree that it is important for the library to be recognized as a community center (73%), a cultural center (70%), and a family destination (68%). Finally, 65% of American adults believe it is important that a library should exist as an entertainment resource.
These stats aren’t quite as compelling as the 2013 findings of the Pew poll, which put approval ratings more in the 90% range, but if 73% of Americans feel it should be a community center, then what does an ideal community center-based library look like?