Canadians, Public Libraries and the Information Highway: Final Report

Project Team and Acknowledgements

Project Team:

While Ekos Research Associates is responsible for any errors that may be contained in this report, we would like to acknowledge a number of people who contributed to the success of the project. Of particular mention are Marian Pape, Gwynneth Evans, Diane Bays, and Leacy O'Brien who helped to bring the library community in as sponsors to the Information Highway and Canadian Communications Household project, as well as providing invaluable assistance throughout the research. We would also like to thank Andrew Reddick of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre for his important contributions and role in shaping the study. Finally, we would also like to express our appreciation to the many individuals who took the time to complete the mail- back survey. Without their cooperation, this research would not have been possible.

Executive Summary

Introduction

This study was commissioned by the Canadian Library Association (CLA) on behalf of an informal consortium made up of the Provincial and Territorial libraries, the National Library of Canada, Industry Canada, Association pour l'avancement des sciences et techniques de la documentation (ASTED) and CLA to support two distinct, but complimentary objectives. First, the study was designed to fill an information gap, and provide information on how public libraries are being used across the country. Second, the study was designed to assist governments as part of their broader goal of connecting all public libraries to the information highway by 1999 and to examine the means by which to make "connectivity" sustainable.

On first examination, the connection between public libraries and the information highway may not be apparent. But like many other types of institutions, public libraries are being influenced directly and indirectly by the ubiquitous information highway. From the perspective of public libraries, the impact of the information highway is important to understand as it is altering much of the landscape around which they have provided services to Canadians. At the same time, public libraries already represent an important point of access to the information highway for many Canadians.

Key Findings

The results in this study were drawn together on the basis of a mail-back survey that built on the first wave of the Information Highway and Canadian Communications Household study. The final results are based on 1,271 completed surveys received between February and April, 1998.

The survey findings suggest that public libraries continue to be used by a large number of Canadians across the country, although usage, as might be expected, varies considerably across various segments of the population. As with most surveys, however, the findings which involve reporting activities over a given time period should be interpreted with a degree of caution. This, in part, reflects that respondents often recall undertaking activities more recently than is actually the case. For example, a respondent may recall having been to a public library in the past year when in fact it had actually been 18 months. In that context, results from the questions relating to timeframes should be interpreted as broad indicators of usage rather than the absolute number of visits.

At an overall level, the majority of respondents report having had some interaction with a public library. In general, usage is higher among females, younger Canadians, many of whom are also students, and respondents in British Columbia and Ontario. The key findings in terms of Canadians' usage of public libraries include:

• nearly two in three survey respondents (63 per cent) reported having a public library card;
• two in three respondents (66 per cent) reported having visited a public library in the past twelve months, with one in five (21 per cent) reporting having been at least 12 times (i.e., the equivalent of once a month);
• respondents visited public libraries an average of 7.7 times in the past year, up slightly from the 1991 Reading in Canada study (6.4 times); and
• close to four in ten (39 per cent) reported visiting a library in the last week (although this figure is the most likely to be overstated).

The survey findings suggest that public libraries are being used for a wide range of activities. In general, the most common activities involve borrowing books, browsing through books, magazines, and newspapers, and using reference materials. Many other activities are also being undertaken, including research and consulting with library staff, and to a lesser extent, borrowing other materials and using photocopiers. Newer services such as the Internet and on-line data bases have been used by one in ten respondents, although they are used more frequently by younger respondents and students.

By contrast, some Canadians reported that they do not use public libraries. When asked about the reasons for not using them, the two most commonly cited reasons involved lack of interest or the fact that they buy their own books. Other reasons centred around inconveniences, access elsewhere, and children no longer going to libraries.

There is considerable agreement over the roles of public libraries, including activities such as providing key information (e.g., reference material), promoting recreational reading and literacy for all citizens, and serving as community information centres. Few respondents, if any, see any of the broad roles examined as not being appropriate for public libraries. As might be expected, however, certain roles are seen as being more important than other roles. For the most part, respondents who use certain activities frequently are more likely to attach greater importance to public libraries providing those services.

As mentioned earlier, public libraries represent an increasingly important component of the network of public access sites across the country which provide access to the information highway for many Canadians. While most respondents do not believe there is one unique model of a public access site, they are most likely to rate public libraries at the top in terms of appropriate locations, along with schools. Few respondents believe that public libraries are not an appropriate location.

Consistent with the findings about public access sites, respondents see most of the emerging roles in the area of the information highway as appropriate for public libraries. The one notable exception in the activities examined relates to providing access to electronic mail which was seen by a sizeable number of respondents as not being appropriate.

While it is not directly related to the mandate of public libraries, the survey also examined the different types of information Canadians are using the Internet to find. Already, many Canadians with Internet at home indicate that they are relying on it as a primary source for finding information on various topics. The survey also found that respondents had obtained information on a range of topics over the past week.

Given the ongoing funding-related pressures felt by many public libraries, the survey probed attitudes towards different ways to address any funding shortfalls. As is often the case when examining funding-related issues, there is a coexistence of support for different approaches. Public libraries are seen as a suitable target for increased government funding, but most respondents are not willing to see taxes raised to this end. Most respondents also believe that public libraries themselves must assume a greater role through introducing greater cost recovery measures (e.g., increased fines and fees, fundraising activities). There is, however, little support for funding newer services by reducing other services.