WebJunction

In January 2008, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced it would enter into a cooperative agreement with the University of Washington to conduct a national study on the social, economic, personal, and professional value of free access to computers at public libraries. 

Faculty members Mike Crandall and Karen Fisher of the University of Washington Information School, working with the Urban Institute, a non-partisan economic and social policy research organization, are examining the impact of free access to computers and the Internet on the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. The IMLS project is being carried out with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Public libraries, with support from the government and private foundations, have provided free access to the Internet and computers since the 1990s. Libraries have also provided access to digital resources, databases, networked and virtual services, training, technical assistance, and technology-trained staff. However, little research has been done on the relationship between free access to computers and the benefits to individuals, families and communities. Working with libraries, users, and communities, and an expert committee of library leaders, researchers, and public policy organizations, the research team is developing methods of measuring the benefits of free computer access. These indicators will help guide decision-making and be used to generate public support for public access computing.

Information about the study is available at its website (http://depts.washington.edu/imlspac) and you can track discussions relevant on the project blog as well (http://depts.washington.edu/imlspac/blog/) .

In September 2008, data collection will begin in three stages:

1. a national telephone survey,
2. a web survey, and
3. case studies of 5 public libraries.   

The telephone survey will be a random digit dial survey of users of free library computing resources, designed to provide a national picture of how those resources impact people’s lives across the country.

In parallel with the telephone survey, a random selection of 600 library systems throughout the country will be asked to provide access to a web survey for their users. The University of Washington will be working closely with COSLA and the individual libraries selected for the survey to help minimize impact on staff and patrons.  This group is one way that the participating libraries can help share experiences and make this part of the data collection a success. 

Finally, 5 libraries selected from a long list of candidates gathered from COSLA, WebJunction, Compumentor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other sources, representing a cross-section of the nation’s communities, will be visited by research teams from the University of Washington to gain in-depth insights into how staff, users, administrators and funders in the community see their public access computing impacting the community.

Keep track of progress on all these efforts, contribute your ideas and thoughts, and share your stories here on this group.

We will be posting more information as we get farther into the data collection, and will announce the web survey and case study libraries here in late September.

Stay tuned!