IMLS: Libraries Are Trusted and Valued

By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 3/7/2008 4:00:00 AM

Libraries and museums are the most trusted sources of online information among adults of all ages, education levels, races, and ethnicities, says a new report by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

In fact, libraries and museums rank higher in trustworthiness than all other information sources including government, commercial, and private Web sites, says “InterConnections: A National Study of Users and Potential Users of Online Information,” which offers insights into the ways people search for information in the digital age and how this impacts the ways they interact with public libraries and museums, both online and in person.

“Museums and libraries are alive and well in the digital world,” says IMLS Director Anne-Imelda Radice. “The InterConnections report shows how people currently search for information and makes the case that the libraries and museums must provide service both online and in person.”

The most frequently used source of information is the Internet (33 percent per occasion), followed by other people (29 percent), books (14 percent), newspapers and magazines (10 percent), and other sources (14 percent). How do they get information? Some 83 percent of people use the Internet, 70 percent of people use museums and public libraries, and 47 percent use all three.

Given that some 96 percent of public library users continue to visit libraries in person, the Internet is not replacing in-person visits, the researchers conclude. Indeed, online access seems to have contributed to increased in-person visits, as has Internet use. The study suggests that the time and cost visitors spend to get to museums and libraries means that users value both of them highly.

The study does imply, however, that the Internet remains competition. The most-used remote online services are search engines (70 percent of all uses), obtaining information from a librarian or the library (53 percent), looking at another Web site (46 percent), and viewing or downloading articles (68 percent). Search engines remain the most helpful services.

What if public libraries weren’t available? Those surveyed said they’d get the information from another source some 85 percent of the time. The researchers analyzed “contingent value,” the total cost to use alternative sources less the current cost to use public libraries. The conclusion: “The net benefit of having public libraries is that visitors save about 1.4 billion hours in their time and $35.8 billion in dollar costs per year. Remote online visits save about 790 million hours and $10.9 billion in other costs. In-person online visits save 170 million hours and $7.1 billion in other costs. Other inperson visits save 460 million hours and $18 billion in other costs. Clearly, public libraries save their users a substantial amount in time and money.”

The research was conducted by a team at the School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, led by dean and professor José-Marie Griffiths and professor Donald W. King.