Background
The American Library Association and the Information Use Management and Policy Institute (http://www.ii.fsu.edu) in the College of Information at Florida State University, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is surveying a national sample of public libraries regarding their Internet connectivity and computing access resources. Dr. John Carlo Bertot, Dr. Charles R. McClure, and Ms. Denise M. Davis are the study managers. This continues the biennial surveys of public library public computer and Internet access conducted by Bertot & McClure since 1994. More information regarding the overall project is available at http://www.ala.org/plinternetfunding.
The data from the enhanced study will help you to identify the impacts of your library's public computer and Internet access on the community that your library serves. The survey data also will give national and state policymakers, practitioners, library supporters, researchers, government and private funding organizations and other stakeholders a better understanding of the issues and needs that your library faces in providing public computer and Internet access services and resources. Additional information regarding this and previous studies is available at http://www.ii.fsu.edu/plinternet.
The 2008 Survey
The 2008 National Survey of Public Library Computer and Internet Access is web-based and you may access it by clicking HERE, or selecting the "Complete Survey" tab on the right. Your library and the branches selected to participate (if applicable) due to their participation in the Opportunity Online grant program. If you wish to complete the survey for the additional branches in your system (again, if applicable), you will be given the opportunity to do so.
The survey has three parts: 1) questions relevant to library branches,
2) questions related to library systems, and 3) Opportunity Online grant
program questions developed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Please complete all three
parts.
For many libraries, there is no distinction between a branch
and a system. We realize that public libraries in each
state are organized differently and that the term “system” can
mean something different from state to state. By
system we mean the central authority for the library – that is,
the entity that makes budget decisions, applies for E-rate, and makes
other management decisions. We
do not use the term “system” to mean regional cooperatives
or other forms of federated libraries. The web-based survey is designed
to differentiate between libraries with and without branches, so it will
automatically account for your library's specific situation.
Your involvement
is extremely important and a requirement of the Opportunity
Online grant. Libraries will be able to participate in the survey until
November 7, 2008.
If you wish to view the survey in its entirety, a PDF version of the survey questions is available. Please note
that this form is NOT the interactive web survey form,
and is different in appearance than the actual interactive web survey
form. We are providing the PDF version for informational purposes. For
your reference, a print copy of the survey was also included in the mailing
we sent to all libraries announcing and explaining the study.
If you have questions about the 2007 National Survey of Public Library Computer and Internet Access, please contact the researchers at: support@plinternetsurvey.org, or (850) 645-2197.
Upon completion of the survey, you may register to win an Amazon Kindle.
