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Academic and community college libraries: snapshots of priorities &
perspectives
New OCLC membership reports available for download
*//Snapshots of 'Priorities & Perspectives' for U.S. academic
and community college libraries are now available. A similar
report on U.S. public libraries was recently released. All three
reports are available for download
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These new membership reports provide insight into community college and
other academic libraries' priorities and initiatives, as well as
librarians' thoughts on future use of the library and the make-up of
library service points. The reports also examine how librarians keep
current on happenings in the library field.
As noted in these reports, most community college and other academic
library staff:
* Consider licensed e-content and e-books to be their top priority and
current initiative
* Believe their current library location structure will be the same in
five years
* Rely mostly on listservs and e-mail to stay current.
These are just a few of the results from a recent OCLC study detailed in
two new OCLC membership reports: "U.S. Academic Libraries: A Snapshot of
Priorities & Perspectives" and "U.S. Community College Libraries: A
Snapshot of Priorities & Perspectives." A few other highlights include:
* E-books are a top priority for all three library types. The future
of higher education and the library’s role in that future is also
among the top priorities for both community college and other
academic libraries, while public libraries are focused on ensuring
adequate Internet access and demonstrating their value to funders.
* Public libraries are more likely to want a change in their library
locations structure in five years, including some that would like an
increase in branches and/or other service points and others who
would like a decrease. Regarding a national digital library, public
libraries and community college libraries are less likely than
academic libraries to expect one to exist within the next five years.
* E-mail lists are the most widely used sources to keep informed by
all three library types. Just under half of library staff read blogs
to keep current on library trends, and there is much overlap among
library types concerning the most popular bloggers.
OCLC conducted a survey among thousands of U.S. library staff from
various types of libraries. The three reports detail the findings from
the nearly 1,300 public library staff, nearly 200 community college
library staff and nearly 2,000 other academic library staff including
directors, managers and librarians who participated in the survey.
A similar report based on OCLC's survey findings from libraries in the
U.K, the Netherlands and Germany will be published in the coming months.
Download the full reports »
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Let us know your thoughts, questions and ideas about these publications
here
<http://visit.oclc.org/t?r=896&c=3166618&l=25684&ctl=4226C73:7D9A13F40F244FA9765CB4510D3BC4E6D6A387371AADFFF5&;>.
