Course:LIBR559A/Manjarrez, C. A., & Schoembs, K. (2011)

Citation

Manjarrez, C. A., & Schoembs, K. (2011). Who’s in the Queue? A Demographic Analysis of Public Access Computer Users and Uses in U.S. Public Libraries, Research Brief No. 4. Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Annotation

Public access computing discussions generally target people who cannot afford a computer and/or Internet access; or those who do not have formal digital literacy skills. His logic would lend that eventually the need for public computer access in libraries would fall away as more and more individuals gain skills and the ability to access the Internet from home. According to this survey, this has not been the case with most librarians reporting they still have too few workstations. Public access services were found to be the most useful for the age group of 14-19 and least for those between the ages of 25-34. IMLS compared their usage statistics against general population information from the US census and found that, in general, there is not a large discrepancy in general population figures and computer access users. With education, those in high school tend to use the library public access less their percentage of the population, while those in post graduate studies tend to use the services more than those in the census results. From these figures, public access users tend to be individuals with more formal education. The survey showed that 86.1% of the users do have access in their homes and the 13.9% that do not regularly have access in another setting, such as school or work. This clashes with the common misconception that library users go because they cannot access inline services elsewhere. They also found that whether an individual has home access or not, both groups use it for the same reasons, just with higher percentages being those that do not have access in the home. In order of reasons for usage, the study states: social connections at 60%, education 42%, employment 40%, health and wellness 37%, government and legal 34%, community engagement 33%, managing finances 25%, and entrepreneurship 7%. The reasons for usage were also determined by age, elderly tending to research more health and wellness, and young people focusing on education. Overall, all age groups, educations, and other determining factors used public access for social connections more than any other reason. Libraries are providing much more than basic technology access and “people find libraries more efficient places to meet their information needs than the computer in their home” (7). IMLS has gone on to develop a framework for digitally inclusive communities that addresses “availability and adaptability, digital literacy, and accessibility for people with disabilities” focusing on “education, economic development, health concerns, public safety, and civic engagement” (18). They are focusing on social aspects of inclusion. This is a good information study because it shows that the presumed reasons and categories of patrons are incorrect. Many users are in not in fact disadvantaged in some way, or lacking education, employment, and digital literacy. It is important to understand the users to help better suit their needs. These studies will help to ensure that library patron’s needs are being effectively met.

Areas / Topics / Keywords

Public Access Computer Users IMLS

Kelly Murphy