Despite the lack of real growth in their budgets in recent years, state library agencies are working strategically to assist library professionals and local libraries to meet patrons’ needs, according to State Library Agency Service Trends: 1999–2008, a new research brief by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Limited resources are being shifted as libraries services are being redefined. Over the past 10 years, for example, real dollar expenditures on statewide database licensing more than doubled, reaching a total of $65.8 million in 2008. These databases provide all library users access to a wide range of online resources, such as reference sources for homework, job search and training tools, and specialized magazines and newspapers. This finding indicates one way that state library agencies are making the most of limited resources.
Library services for hard-to-reach populations, such as services for people in nursing homes, individuals with physical or learning disabilities, assistive technologies and devices, and non-English speakers and migrant workers, declined from a high of $57 million in 2004 to $31.6 million in 2008, according to the study.
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An upcoming study, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, demonstrates that vulnerable populations rely on libraries for Internet access. Among young adults (14-24 years of age) living in households below the federal poverty line, 61 percent used public library computers and Internet for educational purposes. Among seniors (65 and over) living in poverty, 54 percent used public library computers for health or wellness needs. The study, scheduled for release on March 25, was conducted by the University of Washington with support from IMLS and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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