Libraries solve problems
Lee Rainie – Director Pew Internet Project
Computers in Libraries
April 7, 2008
Who’s blogging this?
Writings of a Loud Librarian – October 31, 2005
Indiana Librarian Marissa Priddis
http://theloudlibrarian.net/2005/10/monterey-learning-stuff.html
Libraries solve problems
April 7, 2008
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“Rainie was funny, at ease,
informative and we found
ourselves do a lot of ‘Huh...I didn't
know that’ during his speech. Very,
very cool.”
Libraries solve problems
April 7, 2008
3
“Good crisp presentation … backed with
some actual research and drawing out the
implications for educators, a list of which
should be posted on the wall of every
school ….”
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April 7, 2008
4
“He’s a lot older than I imagined.”
-------------------“Looks like a typical Foundation suit.”
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“While he may look older than some
expected, and appears to be just another
Foundation suit, he's a very intelligent
man, and worth paying attention to.”
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April 7, 2008
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Beth Carpenter
“Hey, Rainie, this is for you: "A fastpaced, informative session from a
knowledgeable and entertaining
speaker! I feel like this was just the tip of
the iceberg, like there's so much more
we could learn from Mr. Rainie if we only
had more time…." :) ”
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Most important finding of the project
!
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A quick status report on
Pew Internet data about
the new information
ecosystem
Information ecology: Then and Now…
Industrial Age
Information Age
Info was:
Info is:
Scarce
Abundant
Expensive
Cheap
Institutionally
oriented
Personally
oriented
Internet then and now
2000
2008
46% of adults use
internet
75% of adults use
internet
5% with broadband at
home
54% with broadband at
home
50% own a cell phone
78% own a cell phone
0% connect to internet
wirelessly
62% connect to internet
wirelessly
= slow and stationery
connections
= fast and mobile
connections
Media ecology – then
Product
Route to home
TV stations
phone
broadcast TV
broadcast radio
News
mail
Advertising
newspaper delivery
Display
Local storage
TV
radio
stereo
Cassette/ 8-track
Vinyl album
phone
paper
Radio Stations
non-electronic
Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co
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Media ecology – now
Product
TV stations
Info
“Daily me”
content
Cable Nets
Web sites
Local news
Content from
individuals
Peer-to-peer
Advertising
Radio stations
Route to home
cable
DSL
wireless/phone
broadcast TV
broadcast radio
satellite
mail
express delivery pager
iPod / storage
subcarriers / WIFI
newspaper delivery
camcorder/camera
Satellite radio
Display
TiVo (PVR)
TV
radio
PC
iPod /MP3
stereo
monitor
headphones
Local storage
VCR
portable gamer
cell phone
phone
PDA/Palm
game console
non-electronic
MP3 player / iPod
pagers - PDAs
cable box
game console
paper
storage sticks/disks
DVD
Web-based storage
server/ TiVo (PVR)
PC
web storage
CD/CD-ROM
Adapted from Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co
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Content creation
62% of young adult
internet users
have uploaded
photos to the
internet
---34% of all users
have done this
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Content creation
58% of online teens
have created their
own profile on a
social network site
like MySpace or
Facebook
---33% of online adults
have such profiles
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Content creation
39% of online teens
share their own
creations online,
such as artwork,
photos, stories, or
videos
---21% of online adults
have done this
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Content creation
26% of young adults
have created or
worked on webpages
or blogs for others,
including those for
groups they belong
to, friends or school
assignments
---13% of online adults do
this
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Content creation
33% of college
students keep
blogs and
regularly post
54% read blogs
---12% of online adults
have a blog
35% read them
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Content creation
28% of young adult
internet users
have uploaded
videos to the web
---14% of all adult
internet users
have done this
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Content creation
26% of online teens
report keeping
their own personal
webpage
---14% of online adults
have their own
page
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Content creation
20% of online young
adults say they
remix content they
find online into
their own artistic
creations
---11% of online adults
have done this
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Content creation
19% of online young
adults have
created an avatar
that interacts with
others online
---6% of all adult
internet users
have done this
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New research on libraries in
this information ecosystem
1) Patronage patterns
2) Problem-solving
capacities
Background of research
• Institute for
Museum and
Library Services
grant
• UIC partnership
• Government
Printing Office
query
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/
231/report_display.asp
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Basic question
• How do people get information
to help them solve problems that
could have a government
connection or be aided by
government resources?
– Not a look at general-interest
information searches
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Problem – 1 (… in the past two years)
Yes
Dealt with a serious illness or other health
condition, either yourself or someone close to
you
45%
Made a decision about schooling, paying for
education, or getting training for yourself or
for a child
39
Needed information about property taxes or
income taxes
34
Changed jobs, retired, or started your own
business
25
Needed information about Medicare / Medicaid /
food stamps
23
Problem – 2 (… in the past two years)
Yes
Needed information about Social Security /
military benefits
20%
Wanted information about voter registration or a
government action, program, or policy
19
Look for help from local government with a
problem like traffic or schools
15
Involved in a criminal matter, a lawsuit, or other
legal action
10
Became a citizen / helped someone with
immigration
5
79.5% had experienced at
least one problem
=
Approx. 169 million adults
and that is the target
population for this
research
Focus on special population
• Particular attention was paid to
those in with “low access”
• <$40,000, non-internet users, or
dial-up access at home
– High access = 64%
– Low access = 36%
• 13% dial-up
• 23% no access
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Concentrate on special information hubs
• What is the role in such
searches that is played by
libraries and government
agencies?
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Survey logistics
• Fielded June 27–Sept 4, 2007
• 2,796 completed interviews – oversample of 733 low-access
respondents
• Margin of error 3 percentage points
• Response rate 27.1%
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New research on libraries in
this information ecosystem
1) Patronage patterns
2) Problem-solving
capacities
Visited library in the past year
53% of American adults
Gen.
(ages)
% who
visited a
public
library
Gen Y Gen X Trailing
(18-30) (31-42) Boomers
(43-52)
62%
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59%
57%
Leading Matures
Boomers (62-71)
(53-61)
46%
42%
April 7, 2008
After
Work
(72+)
32%
33
Shhhhhhhhhh - brand new teens data
• 60% of online teens use the
internet at libraries – up from
36% in 2000
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• Those with higher income
– Household >$60,000 = 61%
– Household <$40,000 = 48%
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• Those with high educational
attainment
– College grad = 68%
– High school diploma or
dropout = 42%
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• Those who are internet users
– Internet user = 61%
– Non-user = 28%
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• High access (broadband in
their lives)
– High access = 62%
– Low access = 38%
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• Parents with children living at
home
– Parent = 63%
– No minor child = 48%
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Public library patrons are more likely to be …
• No significant differences by
race and ethnicity
– Whites = 53%
– Blacks = 53%
– English-speaking Hispanics
= 53%
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New research on libraries in
this information ecosystem
1) Patronage patterns
2) Problem-solving
capacities (mixed results)
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What sources did you use for most recent problem?
• 58% of those who had recently
experienced one of those problems said
they used the internet to get help (not
including secondary internet users)
• 53% said they turned to professionals
such as doctors, lawyers or financial
experts
• 45% turned to friends and family members
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What sources did you use …? (2)
• 36% consulted newspapers, magazines,
books
• 34% directly contacted a government
office or agency
• 16% consult television and radio
• 13% went to the public library
• 11% used another source not mentioned
in survey
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Who turns to libraries for problem solving
•
•
•
•
•
Young adults (18-29) = 21%
Oldest (over 70) = 15%
Blacks = 26%
Latinos = 22%
Lower income (HH <$40,000) = 17%
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Most popular problem-solving searches at libraries
• Made a decision about schooling, paying
for education, or getting training for
yourself or for a child
• Jobs
• Serious illness
• Taxes
• Medicare / Medicaid / food stamps
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Problem
Health
Education
Taxes
Medicare/
Medicaid
Change
job status
Social
Security
Internet
46%
77%
60%
45%
66%
41%
Professionals
83%
40%
48%
43%
27%
38%
Family or Friends
51%
50%
26%
28%
58%
31%
Print sources
37%
38%
32%
33%
43%
27%
Government
Agency
15%
27%
56%
60%
27%
71%
TV or Radio
16%
15%
21%
14%
14%
14%
Library
10%
20%
10%
10%
11%
7%
Source of info.
Once they are at the library, they are active
AND happy
• 69% got help from library staff
• 68% used computers – 38% got
one-on-one instruction
• 58% sought reference materials
• 42% used newspapers and
magazines
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Search success in problem solving
Very Successful
A lot of information
Government agency
65%
49%
Public library
64%
36%
Internet
63%
55%
Professionals /
experts
61%
NA
Newspapers, mags,
books
57%
NA
Family and friends
56%
NA
TV and radio
55%
NA
Future intentions on library visits
• 29% said they likely would go to libraries
– Less well off – 40% (under $40,000)
– Gen Y – 41%
– Less educated – 41%
– Latinos – 42%
– Blacks – 48%
–Regular library patrons – 68%
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Privacy concerns
• About a fifth of Americans with problems to
address said they were concerned about privacy
disclosures as they hunted for information.
These concerns influenced the method they
ultimately chose for gathering information, and
they were somewhat more pronounced for the
low-access group.
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Takeaways and Implications -1
53% “market share” isn’t bad, but there
are lots of opportunities out there.
• Public education efforts about what you do, how
you do it AND HOW YOU HAVE CHANGED
could pay off.
– Focus on success stories and competence
• The people who know you best are the ones who
keep coming back.
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Takeaways and Implications - 2
Your patrons are happy and some are
zealous advocates.
• This is the era of consumer evangelists and you
have an abundance of them. Many of them are
the influentials of your community
• Give them Web 2.0 tools and, if necessary,
training, to evangelize and shape conversations.
about your programs and collections.
• Get their feedback!
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Takeaways and Implications – 3
Your “un-patrons” are primed to seek
you out.
• The people who might be more dependent on
libraries for help are aware of what you offer and
your special skills.
• The keys for their patronage:
– Awareness of your work
– Comfort in your environment
– Mentoring skills
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Takeaways and Implications - 4
Aspire to be a node in people’s social
networks.
• Social networks are for learning.
• Social networks are for news and navigation.
• Social networks are for support and problemsolving.
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Takeaways and Implications - 5
Offer your expertise in new literacies.
-- librarian blogger Pam Berger
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Graphic literacy – the language of the screen.
Navigation – the transition to non-linear format.
Context – the importance of seeing connections.
Focus – the value of reflection.
Skepticism – the capacity to evaluate
Ethical behavior – living responsibly
Personal literacy – understanding digital footprints
Thank you!
Lee Rainie
Director
Pew Internet & American Life Project
1615 L Street NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Lrainie@pewinternet.org
202-419-4500
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