Library Stuff

“Librarians at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library have a problem unique to the modern age — attaching numbers to the myriad services the library provides across varied platforms. While library CEO Gina Millsap estimates that for every tax dollar provided to the library for operation, $4 in value is returned to the community in such terms as literacy and school achievement, she says that value is difficult to prove without numbers to back up those claims.” (CJOnline.com)

“Kentucky’s public libraries are providing new digital services along with books and other items at an unprecedented level, according to statistics compiled by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives KDLA from annual reports submitted by Kentucky’s 119 public library systems. Kentuckians checked out almost 20 million books from public libraries and bookmobiles in addition to more than nine million audio visual items in 2012, while welcoming almost 20 million visitors and serving many more through websites offering a wide range of services. Children’s services were used more than ever, with 8,282,762 children’s items circulated.  Attendance at children’s programs set a record at 1,269,546, an increase of 3.5 percent in 2012.”

via Lane Report

“An extensive online poll of library e-book readers finds that these patrons purchase an average of 3.2 books (both print and e-books) each month, and a majority would consider purchasing books discovered on a library website. These e-book borrowers also report that their digital content purchases have increased in the past six months. Sponsored by OverDrive with the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), the survey constitutes the largest study of library eBook usage to date, with more than 75,000 people responding.”

via OverDrive

“Some 80% of Americans ages 16-29 have read a book in the past year, and six in ten say they have used their local public library, but library attitudes among that age group are somewhat in flux, according to survey report released today by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, with younger readers reporting that they are reading more in an “era of digital content,” and increasingly on their mobile devices, suggesting “opportunities of further engagement with libraries” later in life.”

via Publishers Weekly

“Canadians still overwhelmingly prefer print books to e-books, says BookNet Canada’s new The Canadian Book Consumer 2012: Book-Buying Behaviour in Canada January to June 2012 report. The first edition of the report—available today—finds that 86% of Canadians still purchase print formats and 19% buy electronic formats. Only 7% buy both. Paperback formats remain the most popular, but hardcover books still account for 24% of all book purchases. This long-awaited study provides some much needed insight into consumer behaviour after some tumultuous times for the industry. The report also looks at where book purchases are made and why. It found that approximately 20% of print book purchases were made online (27.5% of all book sales were online, including mobile). But in-store purchases are still more prevalent: non-book retailers account for 32% of sales and traditional bookstores for 37%.”

via BookNet Canada

“The U.S. Census Bureau today released its first-ever mobile application, “America’s Economy,” which will provide constantly updated statistics on the U.S. economy, including monthly economic indicators, trends, along with a schedule of upcoming announcements. The app, which is currently available for Android mobile device users, combines statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. America’s Economy is the first mobile app from the Census Bureau that provides smartphone and tablet users with the real-time government statistics that drive business hiring, sales and production decisions and assist economists, researchers, planners and policymakers. The economic indicators track monthly and quarterly trends in industries, such as employment, housing construction, international trade, personal income, retail sales and manufacturing.”

via U.S. Census Bureau

“Amazon, which owns the Kindle, a popular e-reader, has revealed that in the UK it is selling 114 e-books to every 100 printed hardbacks and paperbacks. The trend for digital books outselling printed books on the popular e-reading platform has been the case for the last few years in the US, but had yet to happen in the UK. Jorrit Van der Meulen, vice president of Kindle EU, said: “As a result of the success of Kindle, we’re selling more books than ever before for authors and publishers.”

via Telegraph

WSJ – “The law professor equivalent of career hits is the “number of times cited” in journals. The stat is a measure of influence, not stroke, but a high citation count open doors, just the same. Institutions consider them when doling out grant awards, awarding tenure or making promotion decisions. “Three thousand hits means you’ve had a great career. I’d say 3,000 citations means you’re one of the all time citation champions,” said Fred Shapiro, an associate librarian at Yale Law School, who recently finished his third study on the most-cited law review articles of all time, with co-author Michelle Pearse, a Harvard librarian.”

Press Release – “OverDrive (www.overdrive.com) will announce at the London Book Fair (Booth X700) April 16-18, the first of a series of “Big Data” reports analyzing billions of eBook impressions and other data collected from across its network of 18,000 public and school libraries. Data from OverDrive’s global library network to be made available to participating libraries and publishers includes information about eBook and digital audiobook title circulation, book demand and holds as well as web traffic and general demographics. OverDrive’s data reports were developed in compliance with library privacy policies and do not include any identifying user information.”

Inside Higher Education – “Some campus libraries might be under pressure to cut costs, but as of 2010 academic libraries were spending more money than they were before the financial downturn that started in 2008, according to new data released Tuesday by the Education Department. In the latest in a series of occasional surveys, the National Center for Education Statistics collected data from nearly 3,700 academic libraries, accounting for 86 percent of all libraries at two- and four-year institutions.”