Art To Go is an art lending programme in place at an Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) since 1965. It’s a great example of one of the many unconventional ways libraries can enrich the lives of the communities they serve. The collection, which has about 400 items, is available to any patron with an ICPL … Read more
These days, people aren’t just checking out books at the library – increasingly, they’re making things there. Brian Pichman from the US-based The Evolve Project, which aims to change the way people see libraries, discusses the new collaborative and creative uses of libraries being successfully trialed around the world, including maker spaces and fab labs, … Read more
In May 2013, the Seattle Public Library launched its Books on Bikes pilot project as part of the Library’s Innovation Campaign, an internal project to develop innovative ideas. Books on Bikes is an outreach project that aims to bring the library to the people with teams of two Library staff biking to events and introducing people … Read more
This summary of the qualitative, focus group research feeds into the report ‘What do the public want from libraries?’. The focus groups concentrated on: Why people use libraries? What people value in public libraries? Reasons for not using libraries Awareness of library services Views on the value of library services Issues highlighted in the qualitative … Read more
This quantitative research fed into the full report ‘What do the public want from libraries?’ It provides an analysis of the findings from a telephone survey of 1,102 people aged 18+ in England. Key questions asked were around: Frequency of library use Personal definition of library use Motivations for using library services Reasons for not using … Read more
This technical report summarises the methodological approach for the 2010 programme of research conducted by Ipsos MORI and Shared Intelligence on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), This programme examined public attitudes to, and experiences of, public libraries, using a range of methodologies to collate existing data and to resolve gaps where little evidence previously existed. This fuller … Read more
This research was commissioned to gauge user reaction to online book lending: the likely price-range different groups may be willing to pay for the service, preferences in delivery options and a view on likely levels of usage. This qualitative research involved 220 of whom one third were interested in online book loans. The essentials for … Read more