In the fall and winter of 2020, New America embarked on a snapshot study to gather data on how--or if--people were discovering, accessing, and using their public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on materials that libraries made available online. Our findings, which include data from a national survey of 2,620 people, highlight…

Patronage of public libraries in Nigeria has declined over the years and is in urgent need of revitalization. Outreach efforts would revitalize the interest of university students in the patronage of public libraries in Nigeria because they need access to resources, especially when on holidays. The study investigates the outreach programs used to…

In comments submitted April 7, 2014, the Alliance for Excellent Education called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modernize the federal E-rate program in order to lay the foundation for expanding the program through increased funding. These comments are in response to an E-rate Public Notice issued by the FCC on March 6, 2014…

While connecting the nation's schools and libraries to the internet by modernizing and expanding the federal E-rate program currently dominates education technology efforts, a new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education urges that adequate broadband access be accompanied by a comprehensive "digital infrastructure" that unlocks…

No matter how many car washes or bake sales schools host to raise money, adding funds to their coffers is a recurring problem. This perpetual financial difficulty makes expansive technology purchases or changes seem like a pipe dream for school CIOs and has education technologists searching for ways to stretch money. In 2005, state K-12 school…

There is a growing shift to digital offerings among public libraries. Libraries increasingly are fulfilling roles as technology hubs for their communities, with high demand for technology and career development training resources. Ebooks and other digital materials are on the rise, while print is being scaled back. More libraries are turning to…

Passage of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in 2000 established requirements for public libraries and schools to adopt Internet filters on their computers in order to receive federal funding. That has firmly, if unintentionally, established the World Wide Web as a no man's land in public education, where few are allowed to tread…

In 2008, researchers at the Library Research Service (LRS) undertook the "U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies" study, with the intent to document the use of various Internet technologies on the websites of public libraries throughout the nation (Lietzau, 2009). The results of that study set a baseline for the adoption…

In this article, the authors share how cloud-based applications, such as Google Calendar, Wikidot, Google Docs, Google Sites, YouTube, and Craigslist, played a big part in the success of their plan of implementing a technology training program for customers and employees. A few years ago the Denver Public Library, where the authors work, developed…

Expanding on the popular, practical how-to guide for public, academic, school, and special libraries, technology expert Susan Sharpless Smith offers library instructors the confidence to take Web-based instruction into their own hands. Smith has thoroughly updated "Web-Based Instruction: A Guide for Libraries" to include new tools and…

Public libraries are heavily affected by political and policy-making processes that shape the funding, activities, and roles of libraries in society, with the explosion of information policy decisions in the past two decades significantly increasing the responsibilities of libraries while also increasing limitations on their activities. Research…

In this chapter, the authors take a broad perspective on how to analyze issues of technology and equity for youth in the United States. They begin with "access" as a starting point, but consider not only whether diverse groups of youth have digital media available to them but also how that access is supported or constrained by…

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) is a voluntary survey conducted annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS collects these data under the mandate in the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 as stated in SEC. 210. The U.S. Census Bureau is the data collection agent for IMLS. The fiscal year (FY) 2009 survey is the…

Over the past decade, policy discussions about public access computing in libraries have focused on the role that these institutions play in bridging the digital divide. In these discussions, public access computing services are generally targeted at individuals who either cannot afford a computer and Internet access, or have never received formal…

The use of interactive web technologies on public library web sites in the United States has been a topic of much discussion in recent years, and a shift in certain types of user services is underway. Terms like "Web 2.0" and even "Library 2.0" have become common in library literature and at conferences as those on the early…