Research

Youth services librarians at public libraries around the country have been adjusting to pandemic closures and trying to plan for future programming amid many unknowns, including budgets, according to SLJ's recent survey.

More than 66 percent of public librarians report that summer reading programs will go completely online, according to SLJ's Youth Services in Public Libraries COVID-19 Response Survey.

Reworking summer reading programs is the number one task being performed by public librarians who work with kids and teens, according to SLJ's survey. But the report shows a wide variety of work being done.

More than half of public librarians have collaborated with local school systems and teachers since the closures to provide digital and online services for children and teens, according to SLJ's Youth Services in Public Libraries COVID-19 Response Survey. And nearly 33 percent have collaborated with local agencies toward the same goal.

Ordering materials and resources continues during library closures, although purchasing has shifted to ebooks and other digital resources, according to SLJ's survey of youth services librarians.

The numbers you put to work every year are here—the list of average book prices for 2019 and 2020 to date, including children’s books, young adult books, graphic novels, paperbacks, and hardcover editions.

The most common library services offered to students during the COVID-19 shutdown of schools? Reader's advisory and storytime/readalouds were tops in middle schools and elementary schools, respectively, according to School Library Journal's recent survey. 

When it comes to a schedule for school from home, how does it compare to the traditional schedule and curriculum? It's a mix, according to School Library Journal's survey of  K-12 librarians, fielded from April 2 to April 12.

Has the current crisis shifted spending? School librarians told us what they expect to buy, print versus digital, in School Library Journal's survey, fielded from April 2 to April 12.