Heather CookErica SolomonEmily DeBaun

Libraries see increased use during tough economic times even though they are working with a reduced budget?

“Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study 2007-2008”

Builds on the research of John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure since 1994

Who can use this information?

1. National survey

2. Questionnaire sent to Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA)

3. Focus groups and site visits held in four states

73% of libraries are the only source for free access to the Internet in their communities

Flattened funding levels for most libraries A need for more training in technology skills Connection speeds are faster in general Many library building are inadequate for technology

improvements Collection of online resources grew significantly

Factors Influencing Workstation and Laptop Addition Decisions

Space Limitations 77.7%

Cost Factors 75.9%

Maintenance, Upgrade, and General Upkeep

23.6%

Availability of Staff 11.3%

Inadequate Bandwidth 16.5%

Availability of outlets,cabling, ect. 36.4%

Other 3.3%

Key findings from study:

Expenditures shift

Soft Funding

Area 2007 Anticipated 2008

Staff salaries 37% 33%

Collections 20% 23%

Other expenditures

42% 44%

Technology Expenditures and Sources of Funding

Population Range and Technology Expenditures

State library agencies help public libraries

Report being involved in supporting high speed internet access to public libraries

Visits to 30 libraries throughout four states reveal common themes in libraries

Barriers to technology access and funding

Effective practices used to improve technology access and funding

1) The technology infrastructure and architecture currently in place in the library

2) Network load3) Traffic routing and management4) Services and Resources5) Estimated bandwidth calculation

Service/ Resource

Factors in determining Bandwidth Needs (e.g., # of workstations, # of simultaneous connections)

Priority/Desired Quality of Service

Bandwidth Management Approaches (e.g., packet shaping, compression)

Estimated Bandwidth Calculation Formula (e.g., given # of workstations and use patterns, how much bandwidth is needed for public access workstations?)

Estimated Bandwidth Need

Integrated Library System

Licensed Resources

Website

Wireless (wi-fi)

Gaming

Social Networking

Number of Computers

VoIP

Backups

Software Updates

Other

vs.