Texas Library Association (TLA) Environmental Scan Report Draft

Texas Library Association (TLA) Environmental Scan Report Revised: February 6, 2012

Created by the Environmental Scan Subcommittee of the TLA Strategic Planning Task Force:

Martha Buckbee, UT Southwestern Medical Center Kathy Hoffman, Retired, Co-chair Karen Hopkins, University of Texas at Arlington Billy Hoya, University of Houston Downtown Mary Jarvis, West Texas A&M University Terry Alegria Roper, Region 10 ESC Richard Wayne, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Co-chair, Report Editor Syma Zerkow, Houston Public Library

We encourage you to read this entire report. It contains much valuable information focused upon all types of libraries in Texas. In order to provide a brief overview of the key concepts covered in this report, the summaries (or parts of the summaries) from each section are duplicated here: Strategic Planning Member Survey. The survey data represents only one element of the environmental scan. Data from the survey clearly point to five critical areas that should be addressed in the strategic plan: professional development, annual conference, continuing education, networking opportunities with colleagues, and articulating the value of libraries. National and Texas Economy and Library Funding. The recession that began in December 2007 officially ended in June 2009, but aftereffects from the recession have endured and have had a huge impact across our country. Despite the lack of current and authoritative statistics, there have been some very clear indicators that Texas libraries have been negatively affected by the recession. Employment Opportunities for Librarians Nationally and in Texas. The downturn in the economy has had an effect on the number of employed librarians, limiting the number of open positions. Not as many librarians are retiring as had been expected, while at the same time not as many new positions are expected to be created. The economic downturn has affected the funding for library positions. New needed skill sets may result in fewer librarian hires, or a re-evaluation of the requirements for the MLS or equivalent degree. Changing Demographics of Texas and the Changing Nature of Library Patron’s Expectations. Texans are becoming older and less educated. Urban and rural population ratios will stay roughly the same for the next 20 to 30 years. Statewide, Hispanics will be a minority majority by 2020 and a full majority before 2035. This shift will occur sooner in urban areas. While the state is becoming more diverse, that increased diversity is limited to urban areas. Demographics of TLA. Research for this section uncovers the important need to gather more demographic information about TLA’s membership. Proving Value / Accountability. There are increasing demands from institutions, parents, employers, taxpayers, accrediting associations, and all levels of government to demonstrate quantitative as well as qualitative value. Proving the value of libraries and librarians can be accomplished through assessment and accountability measures. Changes in Collections: From Physical to Digital. The transition from physical to digital formats has had a massive impact on almost all libraries. From a collection development perspective, most digital resources are licensed, not owned. This also has a great bearing on preservation issues. In addition to accessing digital content, many libraries are experimenting with creating their own, unique digital collections. Technology in Libraries. Technology in a library setting covers a lot of ground. From how we develop and maintain library collections, to how we interact with our users and each other, the

3TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved technological advances of the last twenty years have completely changed the field of library science. School Librarian Certification Mandates. Data has demonstrated the positive impact of school librarians upon student learning. Certification for school librarians has been inconsistently applied and enforced across Texas and the country. There’s a growing awareness of the importance of this issue, but a consensus on how to proceed has not been achieved. Continuous Reinvention of Our Libraries. The days of shock and resistance toward rapid and dramatic changes in our libraries need to be in the past. We must engage in continuous learning so that our libraries evolve and thrive.

The Environmental Scan Subcommittee (ESS) of the Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF) had its genesis at Annual Assembly in July 2011. We began soliciting for volunteers for the subcommittee at that time. Our goal was to enlist librarians and other library staff from different types of libraries. We continued our enlistment efforts after annual assembly by focusing on potential members recommended by the Strategic Planning Task Force. Membership consists of:

 Martha Buckbee, UT Southwestern Medical Center  Kathy Hoffman, Retired, Co-chair  Karen Hopkins, University of Texas at Arlington  Billy Hoya, University of Houston Downtown  Mary Jarvis, West Texas A&M University  Terry Alegria Roper, Region 10 ESC  Richard Wayne, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Co-chair, Editor  Syma Zerkow, Houston Public Library

The statement of work for the subcommittee has been:

Gather and review articles, reports, and other relevant documents related to the technological, societal, economic, educational, and political environment, as well as information relating to academic, public, school, and other types of libraries. Prepare and comment on a written report.

The subcommittee has progressed in a very measured manner. We used the MyTLA platform as our main communication mechanism. Our first major task was to uncover relevant – and authoritative when possible – documents describing the current and evolving environment that TLA operates within. After that, each member focused on approximately five issues that he or she believes is critical for TLA in the future.

After uncovering numerous resources and discussing the different sets of five key issues, we were ready to proceed. The final step prior to writing this report was to agree on the issues that are and will be the most important for TLA over the next few years.

Although we have members from different types of libraries and have collected numerous resources on each type of library, we have decided to present a combined report. That is, almost all of the issues that we will be discussing are relevant to School, Public, Academic, and Special Libraries. We will specifically note the few cases where that does not apply.

The purpose of a strategic planning environmental scan is to inform all of the other parts of the strategic plan. In practice, many of us are doing continuous environmental scanning in our jobs. By reading library journals and blogs, attending workshops and conferences, and communicating with our colleagues in other various ways; we continue to learn about our current and evolving

5TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved contexts. In this case, the subcommittee focused on broad issues from the perspective of TLA not our respective libraries’ perspectives.

We hope that you find this environmental scan a satisfactory summary of the TLA environment in 2011 - 2012 and beyond. The data described in this report will directly impact the other unfolding parts of the strategic plan – values, mission, vision, strategic initiatives, and objectives.

Strategic Planning Member Survey

Introduction In July 2011, TLA president Jerilynn Williams appointed a Strategic Planning Task Force to create a new 3-year plan for the organization. The Task Force was comprised of the TLA Executive Board members, four divisional councilors, and two co-chairs. In addition, two subcommittees were initiated: the Environmental Scan Subcommittee and the Vision, Mission, and Values Subcommittee. Both subcommittees were made up of members from diverse types of libraries. TLA member input was solicited through a variety of mechanisms, including a member survey.

Methodology The strategic planning member survey instrument (Appendix B) was developed from data gathered from a Hot Topics Focus Group and an Idea Lab held during Annual Assembly, July 2011. An invitation to participate in the survey was sent to the entire TLA membership with a link to the online survey. The survey was posted online from October 28 - November 30, 2011, and weekly email reminders were sent to members. A total of 1,433 responses were received (approximately 20%). The survey instrument was designed in four parts. Part 1 (questions 1-3) collected information on why members join TLA, what keeps them active members of the organization, and what benefit of membership they value most. Part 2 (questions 4-5) collected information on the types of challenges that members face in their place of work and the issues they believe may affect the profession moving forward. Part 3 (questions 6-7) sought member input on what TLA could provide to help them in their careers and where TLA should focus its future efforts. Part 4 (questions 8-11) collected demographic information, such as age, type of library worked in, number of years worked in the profession, and what TLA district members belong to. The final question gave members an opportunity to add additional comments. Highlights of Survey Findings

Demographics Almost 70% of the respondents were 46 years of age or older and more than half (60%) had 11 or more years of work experience in the library field. The largest category of respondents reported that they work in school libraries (43%), followed by public libraries (28%), and academic libraries (19%). The remaining 10% either work in special libraries; are associated with a library school, vendor, consortium; are a library trustee, friend or advocate; or are retired

6TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved or unemployed. Members from all 10 TLA districts participated in the survey. The greatest number of respondents was from District 8 (22%) and District 5 (17%).

TLA Membership The majority of respondents reported that they joined TLA and remained active members of the association for the same reasons: professional development and to attend annual conference. These are also the top two benefits that respondents deemed most valuable from their membership in TLA. Commitment to serving the profession was the third-highest reason for both why respondents joined TLA and also remained active members. This was followed closely by "continuing education" and "networking opportunities with colleagues" as reasons to join the organization and remain members. These were also reported as most valuable benefits of membership. Additionally, 11% of respondents ranked "improve work related skills" as the most valuable benefit of their TLA membership.

Current and Future Challenges - Opportunities for TLA Over 50% of respondents reported resource constraints (budget, staff, and space) and perceptions about the value of a library as the most challenging aspect of their work. These were also the top two reasons given as concerns for the profession moving forward. The third-highest concern about the profession moving forward was the hiring of non-MLS degreed personnel for traditional MLS professional positions. When asked what TLA could provide to help members and/or their careers, over 50% ranked "advocacy for libraries and library workers" and "providing virtual platforms for conference attendance, continuing education, and professional development" as their top choices. Similarly, 46% would like TLA to focus its future efforts on articulating, demonstrating, proving library value as well as on advocacy for libraries.

Other Concerns Several respondents took the time to add comments in the open comment fields. Even though these represent only a small percentage of the total responses, several are worthy of mention. Additional reasons given for joining TLA included access to liability insurance, being able to meet vendors and exhibitors face to face, scholarship opportunities, and being able to meet and hear authors. Additional reasons why members renew their memberships included access to

7TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved liability insurance, employer expectation, and being able to meet and hear authors. And the primary additional benefit that members regarded as most valuable is access to liability insurance. Respondents expressed the lack of legislative support for education and the profession as an additional concern for the professional moving forward. Several respondents also expressed concern about current and future employment opportunities and salaries. Overall, there was a lot of concern expressed about keeping membership dues, conference registration fees, and training/ continuing education costs affordable. Conclusions See Appendix A for further survey information. The survey data represents only one element of the environmental scan. It will be used with other information gathered to better understand information and trends that could shape the future. However, data from the survey clearly point to five critical areas that should be addressed in the strategic plan: professional development, annual conference, continuing education, networking opportunities with colleagues, and articulating the value of libraries.

National and Texas Economy and Library Funding

Summary: The recession that began in December 2007 officially ended in June 2009, but aftereffects from the recession have endured and have had a huge impact across our country. The economic and service impact of national economic recession upon libraries is often clear only long afterwards due to the lag time in collecting and reporting collective library statistics. Despite the lack of current and authoritative statistics, there have been some very clear indicators that Texas libraries have been negatively affected by the recession.

This section begins with a quote from the March 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review:

Turmoil in the housing, credit, and financial markets plagued the U.S. economy in 2008, and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) identified December 2007 as the beginning of a recession (Borberly).

Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data shows that U.S. unemployment finally went below 9 % in November 2011 – the first time that it was below 9 % since April 2009. In November 2007, the unemployment rate was 4.7 % (BLS).

In the 4th quarter of 2008, the U.S. real gross domestic product declined more than 8 %. The 3rd quarter of 2011 was disappointing but did see about a 2 % increase (BEA). 8TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Library Journal’s 2010 budget survey brings the focus closer to libraries. The survey was sent to 3,036 public libraries, with 647 responses: Nonetheless, the overall trend in FY10 was a brutal grasping by money-starved government officials for the low-hanging fruit of library budgets: 72 percent of survey respondents said their budget had been cut, and 43 percent had staff cuts. Among libraries serving populations above one million, these figures were even more acute, with 86 percent reporting budget cuts in their libraries and 93 percent reducing staff. They also reported a drop in service hours that on average equaled two branch closings (Kelley, LJ’s 2010 Budget Survey). Budget cuts to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) are indicative of the recent budget impacts closer to home. Total staffing was reduced by 19 %, in addition: The new state biennial budget (FY 2012-13) in Texas, signed Tuesday by Governor Rick Perry, will reduce state funding for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by 64 percent and will cut state funding for the agency's library programs by 88 percent. According to figures provided by the state library, the overall state library budget will shrink from $19.8 million each year of the two-year budget to $7.2 million. Funding for the state agency's library programs will go from $12.8 million to $1.6 million. The Library Development and Library Resource Sharing divisions will be merged into a single division (Kelley, Texas Governor). TSLAC budget cuts resulted in the elimination of the Lone Star Libraries program, a $5.5 million reduction for the biennium for TexShare database funding, a minimal level of funding for regional systems, in addition to other cuts (Rudd). The 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature also reduced funding for public school districts by $5.3 billion for the 2012-2013 biennium (TASA).

Although there is a scarcity of recent and authoritative data relating directly to Texas libraries and Texas library employment, a blog post helps paint the picture for school libraries: Texas school libraries have been agonizingly hard hit in the budget crisis in Texas, losing staff across the state. A few days ago, I created this map to help chart some of the losses in Texas in the hopes of bringing attention to the overall impact on students in our state. In 24 hours, over 55 districts had posted losses–losses of campus librarians, library clerks and assistants, and losses of district library positions; many more have been added to the list since then (Foote). Budget cuts to other types of libraries are more difficult to quantify at this point in time. However, the events at one state university and its library may be indicative of recent budget cuts upon other state academic institutions and their libraries. The host university’s state budget support decreased by nearly 22 %. The personnel and collection budgets in the Library were reduced by 15 %.

Research for this section uncovered the lack of real-time library budget and staffing data for Texas. It could be too late to react adequately to related crises once the official data is

Employment Opportunities for Librarians Nationally and in Texas

Summary: The downturn in the economy has had an effect on the number of employed librarians, limiting the number of open positions. Not as many librarians are retiring as had been expected, while at the same time not as many new positions are expected to be created. The economic downturn has affected the funding for library positions. New needed skill sets may result in fewer librarian hires, or a re-evaluation of the requirements for the MLS or equivalent degree. Peaking in 1990, the number of librarians in the United States dropped by 31% between 1990 and 2009 according to one analysis of one hundred twenty years of U.S. Census data (Beveridge, Weber, Beveridge). The decline is continuing at a less accelerated rate. The librarian employment prognostications for the United States were last updated in 2008 for the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-11 Edition (U.S. Department of Labor, Handbook). Although it is generally agreed that the economy was already in decline by 2008, this is the most recent available analysis of librarian employment data. The 2010-11 Edition Handbook predicted:  Employment of librarians will grow by 8% between 2008 and 2018.  Large numbers of librarians are expected to retire before 2020.  Large numbers of graduates from MLS programs may result in job competition although more workers may be retiring from this occupation.  Demand will be for librarians in non-traditional positions, working for information brokers, private corporations, nonprofit organizations and consulting firms.

Also in 2008, the Texas Labor Market and Career Information Department (LMCI) of the Texas Workforce Commission predicted that the demand for librarians would continue to grow in Texas, increasing the number of employed librarians by 24% between 2008 and 2018. Fifty-two % of the jobs to be filled were predicted to be replacements for existing positions, not for additional new positions (Texas Workforce Commission).

Annual Annual Estimated % Openings due Occupatio Est Yr - Projected Openings Total Annual Employmen Change Chang to n Proj Yr Employment due to Openings"Texas" t e Replacement Growth s Librarians 2008 - 2018 11,350 14,080 2,730 24 275 300 575 Librarians, Curators, 2008 - 2018 17,210 21,270 4,060 23 405 540 945 and Archivists

10TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved The optimistic national and state forecast was tempered by the Occupational Outlook Handbook which indicated that the growth in opportunities would be limited by “government budget constraints and the increasing use of electronic resources.” These two factors were expected to result in hiring fewer librarians in the future and replacing them with less costly technicians and library assistants. The Handbook seemed to be addressing the coming economic downturn.

Despite the fact these forecasts were made before the economic downturn in Texas, 2010 statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated (U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, Wages):

• Texas has the second-highest number of employed librarians in the United States, behind New York State. • Two of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in librarianship are in Texas: Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (7th) and Dallas-Plano- Irving (8th).

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, indicates that librarians tend to be older than workers in the rest of the economy (U.S. Department of Labor, Handbook). A longitudinal look at librarian demographics reveals that in 1950 and 1990, only 42 % of librarians were 45 years or older, but by 2000, 64 % were at least 45 years old (Beveridge, Weber, Beveridge). This supports the assumptions that many librarians would be retiring before 2018.

Economic challenges continue to result in local, state, and federal budget reductions which affect libraries’ funding. One of the ACRL Top 10 Trends in Academic Libraries is “Budget challenges will continue and libraries will evolve as a result (Association of College and Research Libraries, Trends).” This trend will have an impact on filling open librarian positions as well as creating new positions. Recognizing the effect of the economy on employment, the ACRL trends also mention that expected librarian retirements may be delayed. The economy affected the availability of public funding for school and public libraries. The LJ 2010 Budget Survey indicated that the stability of employment in public libraries was a concern (Kelley). Libraries serving one million or more experienced a 9.5% staff reduction due to funding. Libraries with the smallest staff reported less change in staffing.

Also included in the ACRL Top 10 Trends in Academic Libraries is the idea that librarians need a more “diverse skill set,” and it is possible to see more non-MLS hires with these skills (Association of College and Research Libraries, Trends). This is reflective of the prediction of the Occupational Outlook Handbook that technicians may be hired to fill librarian positions. This challenges MLS programs and organizations “to provide new and relevant professional development.” ACRL also mentions that the terminal degree may need to be broadened or changed (Association of College and Research Libraries, Environmental Scan 2010). This prediction relates also to other surveys of changes in the library environment which indicate the changing responsibilities and skill sets needed by librarians in all types of libraries.

Changing Demographics of Texas and the Changing Nature of Library Patron’s Expectations

11TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Summary: Texans are becoming older and less educated. Urban and rural population ratios will stay roughly the same for the next 20 to 30 years. Statewide, Hispanics will be a minority majority by 2020 and a full majority before 2035. This shift will occur sooner in urban areas. While the state is becoming more diverse, that increased diversity is limited to urban areas. Data The Texas State Demographer (TSD) has four projection scenarios for generating population projections. The TSD Projection Methodology recommends “… the 0.5 scenario for the long- term planning purposes for which these projections are produced. However, for those who intend to use the projections for relatively short-term (i.e., 3-10 year) planning purposes or who believe that the more recent period is indicative of long-term trends, either the 2000-2004 or the 2000- 2007 scenario may be preferable (Office of the State Demographer, Projections).” This section of the environmental scan report uses the 0.5 scenario; however, the numbers and percentages for both the 0.5 and the 2000-2004 are in the appendix. Except where noted the numbers used were obtained through the Population Projections Data Tool (Office of the State Demographer, Tool). Please refer to Appendix C for further Texas demographic information. Urban vs. Rural Population figures are generally reported for an entire state. In a state as large as Texas it is important to understand the differences faced by urban and rural libraries. The differences in coverage area and in funding are not the only concerns. Differences in population demographics can also be strikingly different between the two environments. Currently, there are 24 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Texas (Office of the State Demographer, Tool). These will be referred to as urban areas while the rest of the state will be considered rural. In 2009 there were almost 25 million people in the state, and 88 % of them lived in urban areas. In 2035, it is projected that there will be 33 million people with 89% living in urban areas. The urban / rural population ratio is projected to remain stable. Age Age distribution shifts show the general trend of an aging population. The strongest growth is in the 65-and-older group, although this age group remains the smallest. Rural areas will have a higher percentage of elderly. The figures show the under-25 age group broken into three age ranges to help demonstrate the need for children, teen, and young adult services. When added together they are the largest group. Figures 1 and 2 show the population distribution by age in urban and rural areas:

Figure 1: Urban Population Distribution over Time by Age

Figure 2: Rural Population Distribution over Time by Age Race The urban population is currently 40% Hispanic and is projected to grow to 51% Hispanic by 2035. Figures 3 and 4 show the population distribution by race in urban and rural areas:

Figure 4: Rural Population Distribution over Time by Race

If the age and race parameters are narrowed down to the two largest groups, it becomes clear that in 2009 the largest disparity between Anglos and Hispanics is in people aged 45 and older. By 2035 there will be a switch; the largest disparity will be in people aged 44 and younger. See figures 5 and 6 for details:

Figure 5: 2009 Age Distribution

Figure 6: 2035 Age Distribution Education With the changing demographics there will also be a change in educational attainment levels. Figure 7 was taken from a paper presented at the Texas State Data Center / Business and Industry Data Center annual meeting in May 2011. One conclusion of this shift to a higher percentage of lower educated Hispanics is “if current labor force trends continue by 2040 HH [household] income will be $6,000 less than in 2000 (Torres).” The Pew Hispanic Center reported on August 25, 2011 that Driven by a single-year surge of 24% in Hispanic enrollment, the number of 18- to 24-year- olds attending college in the United States hit an all-time high of 12.2 million in October 2010, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. (Pew)

Figure 7: Educational Attainment (%) by Race Americans at the Library and Online According to research from OCLC, 68% of Americans have a library card and 63% visit a library annually (De Rosa). While 51% and 57% of teens, age 14 to 17 access wireless and use computers respectively at the library, only 28% and 27% of all Americans use these resources. See Tables 1 and 2 for additional survey results.

Young Profile - Economically College Teens Adult Gen X Boomers Seniors Americans at the Library Total Impacted Students 14-17 18-24 25-45 46-64 65+

Visit the Public Library annually 62% 74% 64% 72% 59% 66% 59% 56%

Visit the Public Library monthly 28% 36% 25% 36% 23% 30% 25% 25%

Have ever used the Library website 33% 38% 57% 42% 54% 36% 22% 21%

Access Free Internet annually at the Library 28% 35% 49% 51% 47% 27% 23% 13%

Use a computer annually at the Library 27% 35% 48% 57% 46% 21% 24% 12%

Believe the Librarian adds value to search process 83% 88% 78% 82% 76% 88% 76% 86%

Are satisfied with overall experience with Librarian 87% 92% 90% 76% 89% 94% 85% 84%

Table 1

Young Profile - Economically College Teens Adult Gen X Boomers Seniors Americans online Total Impacted Students 14-17 18-24 25-45 46-64 65+

Use e-mail 94% 92% 99% 96% 98% 92% 95% 92%

Use search engines 92% 96% 93% 92% 92% 93% 91% 86%

Use Wikipedia 73% 71% 88% 88% 84% 80% 61% 60%

Use online bookstores 72% 78% 78% 58% 79% 71% 75% 69%

Use social networking sites 66% 80% 92% 72% 88% 80% 52% 40%

Use Social media sites 66% 71% 81% 85% 88% 73% 58% 34%

Use Ask-an-Expert sites 43% 45% 52% 62% 54% 39% 42% 32%

Use Blogs 28% 30% 38% 28% 38% 30% 27% 18%

Table 2 Smartphone Usage

14TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved There’s little doubt that the explosion in Smartphones has and will continue to impact how we serve our patrons. Different patron groups have embraced this technology in varying degrees. Pew Internet provides recent, but undoubtedly already outdated data (Smith):

 In a May 2011 survey by Pew Internet, 83% of American adults stated they owned a cell phone, and 42% of those were smart phones. “Smartphone adoption is highest among the affluent and well-educated, the (relatively) young, and non-whites.”  While 35% of all adult Americans have a Smartphone, 44% of Blacks and Hispanics have them.  Urban dwellers are about twice as likely to use them as rural residents.

Demographics of TLA

The only source of demographic information other than membership by division and districts was our recent survey of the TLA membership regarding the strategic plan. 1,433 members responded to the survey from a membership of over 7,000.

The age breakdown was:

25 and under 15 1% 26-35 153 11% 36-45 271 19% 46-55 401 28% 56-65 518 36% 66 and older 75 5%

If this sample represents the Association accurately, 69% of our membership is 46 or older and 41% are likely getting close to retirement. Did younger members not respond or are there simply fewer younger members?

Type of library breakdown was: Academic 274 19% Public 402 28% School 613 43% Special 35 2% Other 109 8%

Realizing that many of our members are school librarians, this breakdown is not surprising and may generally reflects the association overall. Research for this section uncovers the important need to gather more demographic information about TLA’s membership.

Summary: There are increasing demands from institutions, parents, employers, taxpayers, accrediting associations, and all levels of government to demonstrate quantitative as well as qualitative value. Proving the value of libraries and librarians can be accomplished through assessment and accountability measures.

Efforts to provide assessment and accountability to parent institutions and funding sources grew in the last decades of the twentieth century. Studies, such as the OCLC Perceptions of Libraries, 2010, continue to show that the American public values both libraries and librarians (De Rosa):

 Americans believe the library is a “socially valued institution.”  In 2010, 83% of information consumers who have been assisted by a librarian thought that librarians added value to the search process. This was up from 76% in 2005.  More than three-quarters of all generations who use librarians believe librarians add value.  Libraries are increasingly seen as a community asset, used by the public to save money. They are seen as place to learn and read and they are appreciated for supporting literacy.

However, 20% of Americans see a decrease in value of libraries to themselves for the following reasons (De Rosa):

 Finding information online is more convenient.  Library not always available when needed.  Cost of getting to a library can be a challenge.

Although the library and staff are valued, the U.S. Mayor’s report in November 2010 cites library hours, library staff, or library services as the number two budget area to be cut (American Library Association).

The ACRL Top 10 Trends in Academic Libraries anticipates that the demand for assessment and accountability will continue, searching for ways to demonstrate value for both clientele and the parent institution (Association of College and Research Libraries, Trends). Generally this is considered a part of the general trend in academia for accountability for all higher education expenditures; and demands from governments, accreditation bodies, parents, and taxpayers to prove the value of a college education (Association of College and Research Libraries, Scan). The ACRL Environmental Scan 2010 also recognizes the need for institutional use of assessment tools to specifically measure library expenses, information literacy, and research skills. Within the academic environment the following is also noteworthy:

 Physical library collections have little perceived value to students (Long and Schonfeld)  A small group of faculty see the library in a teaching support role (Long and Schonfeld)  Library directors see the library as serving a teaching function; professors see it as a purchasing agent (Kolowich)

16TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved The downturn in the economy and the limited availability of public financing may have also contributed to an increased effort by all library types to prove “ROI” (return on investment) value. Assessment in libraries in K-12 and higher education also focus on learning and teaching, with a growing emphasis on the contributions to student success (American Association of School Libraries).

Research into school library value, as reviewed by a recent graduate class revealed solid data correlating library involvement in curriculum and attendance with standardization test scores (Kachel). Continued research has provided proof that school libraries have the following impacts on student learning:

 Increased hours of access by individuals and groups  Larger print and e-collections with access at home and in school  Up-to-date technology  Library integration into the curriculum  Increased student usage of school library services

Research into the value and impact of public libraries has emphasized contingent value as well as modeling outcomes assessment. Recent studies have stated the need of public libraries to serve the needs of the individual as well as the needs of the community (Levien). A recent report from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government provided evidence that ROI in library services created $30 million worth of economic value to the city of Philadelphia in 2010 (American Library Association).

All aspects of every library’s services and staff are areas for potential research into establishing the value of libraries and librarians to their respective stakeholders. Librarians need to communicate effectively with all stakeholders about the added value they and libraries bring to their communities. “Positive Librarian perceptions impact library funding (De Rosa).”

Libraries are encouraged to use the examples provided by accreditation agencies and other methods used by service and education endeavors. New research into ROI provided by new services, such as social networking, is also emerging (Romero). Libraries and librarians are looking for best practices and examples of providing accountability information. The proliferation and continuing development of sources providing guidance indicates the growing importance of this topic:

 http://www.webjunction.org/demonstrating-impact, Sources for ‘Demonstrating Impact’ for public and school libraries.  http://www.shapingoutcomes.org/index.htm, Shaping outcomes, a self-taught course for learning to work with outcomes assessment is available from Indiana University (IUPUI) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/val_report.pdf, The Value of Academic Libraries: a Comprehensive research review and report, prepared by Megan Oakleaf for ACRL. 2010. Reviews assessment and accountability research and advances in school, public, academic, and special libraries, as well as including an extensive bibliography.

17TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved The extensive budget cuts to many libraries in Texas and nationally demonstrate that citizens – or their representatives – don’t value libraries as much as we believe that they should. TLA has a major role in organizing and communicating convincing and objective information that could persuade them otherwise.

Changes in Collections: From Physical to Digital

Summary: The transition from physical to digital formats has had a massive impact on almost all libraries. From a collection development perspective, most digital resources are licensed, not owned. This also has a great bearing on preservation issues. In addition to accessing digital content, many libraries are experimenting with creating their own, unique digital collections.

Libraries are moving more and more from physical collections to digital collections:

 According to ALA’s State of America’s Libraries 2011 (http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/archives/issue/state-americas-libraries-2011) “Almost all academic libraries offer e-books, as do more than two-thirds of public libraries.” The shift in school libraries is more limited but growing, particularly at the secondary school level. The Cushing Academy, a private high school in Massachusetts, made national headlines when it went almost entirely digital with its new library. Lamar High School, part of Houston I.S.D., made local headlines when it weeded much of its print collection (http://www.chron.com/default/article/Lamar-High-s-library-making- room-for-e-books-1704648.php).  The Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Insights from U.S. Academic Library Directors (http://www.ithaka.org/ithaka-s-r/research/ithaka-s-r-library-survey-2010) reports that academic library directors “expect in five years to essentially complete the transition to electronic format for journals acquisitions and at that point spend nearly half their books budget on electronic books.”

Despite the transition to digital, OCLC’s Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community (http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm) finds that “The library brand is ‘books.’ ‘Libraries = books’ is even stronger than it was five years ago. As new consumer devices and online services have captured the information consumer’s time and mindshare, his perception of libraries as books has solidified…Most information consumers continue to be unaware their library has online databases (56%), e-books (56%), and e-journals (60%).”

Clearly, the continuing and growing challenge facing all types of libraries is to broaden that public perception of the “book brand” to include e-books and other electronic formats.

18TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved ALA has recently established the Digital Content Working Group. ALA’s 2015 Strategic Plan (http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/missionhistory/plan/index.cfm) includes a goal to “provide leadership in the transformation of libraries and library services in a dynamic and increasingly global digital library environment.” In conjunction with that goal, the website http://transforming.ala.org/digitalcontentissues tracks many of the issues related to digital content that affect libraries and their collections.

A key concern for collection development is that most electronic content is licensed, not owned, by libraries. This presents long-term issues, particularly in terms of preserving access to the material for patrons. Annual subscription fees must be paid. Annual access fees are usually required - even for purchased content - as long as the content is housed on the vendor’s server. Access is licensed with various restrictions; titles may remain in a collection only as long as the license is in place. Publishers may change, aggregators may change, and licensing restrictions may change. Libraries have little control over these and similar changes.

Academic e-journals have partially overcome this hurdle with services such as JSTOR. The e- journal publishers recognize that libraries are their partners and that they have a shared interest in preserving long-term access to their e-journal content. A similar arrangement is starting to emerge for scholarly books using Portico. Traditional library publishers such as Gale and some of the K-12 publishers are also aware of the preservation need and are working with libraries to find mutually acceptable solutions.

The issue is much more problematic when looking at e-books, e-journals, and AV materials from trade publishers and music and movie producers. With their primary income coming from consumer sales and commercial advertising, the library market is not a major factor in their planning and decision making. Vendors – e.g., EBSCO, Gale, and other traditional library vendors, as well as Overdrive for e-books and e-audio books and Freegal for music – have appeared to meet library needs for these materials. However, the publishers and producers of these materials can make changes that seriously affect libraries and their patrons. The vendors are contractually required to enforce these changes (e.g., Harper-Collins’ limiting the life of an e- book to 26 circulations http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/03/01/a-message-from-overdrive- on-harpercollins-new-ebook-licensing-terms/, Penguin pulling all of the new Kindle-compatible titles from the Overdrive catalog http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/11/21/penguin-library- ebook-update/, and the loss of many popular journal titles from the Gale and Proquest databases with Ebsco providing exclusive access http://distlib.blogs.com/files/icolc-questions-with-ebscos- answers.pdf).

Libraries are increasingly becoming publishers of digital content. Local newspapers, archival collections, out-of-print and/or out-of-copyright books, student dissertations, scholarly articles, K-12 student projects, and more are appearing on library websites, institutional repositories, and

19TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved in large consortial collections such at the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/ ) and the Hathi Trust (http://www.hathitrust.org/ ).

Texas Heritage Online (http://texasheritageonline.org/) is a cooperative project, administered by the University of North Texas and funded in part by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and the Institute of Museum and Library Studies (IMLS). Texas Heritage Online seeks to identify, describe, digitize, preserve, and make broadly accessible special collections of history and culture held by libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other institutions in Texas. Texas Heritage Online provides unified online access to Texas' historical documents and images for use by teachers, students, historians, genealogists, and other researchers. It partners with 163 libraries, museums, and other institutions across the state - making 230,903 unique items available for research.

The Digital Public Library of America (http://dp.la/ ) is in the early developmental stage but seeks to develop a platform that will pull extensive digital content together, add additional content, and make it easily accessible. As the publisher of the digital content, libraries can control access to the material and use it to develop relationships with their patrons. They can develop those relationships by not just assisting them with access, but also by involving them in creating the metadata to make the materials more discoverable and usable. One of the most successful such projects is the Menus project at New York Public Library (http://menus.nypl.org/about). This type of relationship with library patrons will be a key to the future support and growth of the library as a whole, not just the digital collections.

With the increased movement from physical to digital, an area of growing importance is the preservation of the digital information. The Library of Congress hosts an extensive site with information on this subject (http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/). The Internet Archive provides Archive-It (http://www.archive-it.org/), a web archiving service to harvest and preserve digital collections. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission TRAIL service (https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/trail/index.html), which searches and locates information collected in an archive of more than 180 Texas state agency web servers, serves as an example of a local effort at digital preservation. Proudly, TRAIL resulted from a TLA resolution initiated by the Government Documents Roundtable. However, the need for ongoing education in the area of digital preservation will continue as digital collections increase throughout the library community.

As we make these changes in our collections, the issue of the digital divide must be kept in mind. We must work to assure that digital material can be accessed by all of our patrons, not just those with financial means and up-to-date skills.

Technology in Libraries

20TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Summary: Technology in a library setting covers a lot of ground. From how we develop and maintain library collections, to how we interact with our users and each other, the technological advances of the last twenty years have completely changed the field of library science. This section presents a brief overview of three of the pressing technological issues facing Texas Libraries, including:

 Social Media – research shows that Social Media is most beneficial to small and medium-sized libraries, but there is a shortage of support literature to help them use these new tools to their fullest potential

 Cloud Computing – the increase in its use in libraries

 e-Books & eReaders – the introduction of the Patron-Driven Acquisition model has both pros & cons for libraries. The proliferation of eReaders has led to an increased demand for downloadable content Social Media in Libraries Libraries across Texas are adopting and investing staff time in social media. Many libraries have a Facebook page or Twitter account. But the question remains: “Is it worth it?” In a study conducted by Nuria Romero where the principles of “Return on Investment” were applied to the use of social media in libraries, it was found that social media tools are particularly helpful to small and medium-sized libraries (145). Despite the growing importance of social media to small and medium-sized libraries, there are significant gaps in the published literature. A literature review conducted by Bodnar & Doshi revealed that most literature on social media in libraries focused on “How-To’s” and “Best Practices” for reference librarians, rather than on explaining how non-reference staff might use such tools or how the tools might be integrated into the workflows of areas outside of reference (105, 107). Additional research conducted by Hazel Hall found that while many librarians have “highly- developed strategies for integrating social media tools into their personal professional lives,” the use of these tools as information delivery channels is “often under-exploited (422).” To help small and medium-sized libraries take full advantage of social media, attention must be given to moving beyond simple how-to’s, to helping libraries better integrate social media into their workflows. As Hall states, we must help all libraries move “beyond the traditional broadcaster-consumer model” in social media to help succeed “in developing relationships and roles [that] will harness social media for innovation in services delivery (427).” Cloud Computing Whether you realize it or not, you may already be “on the cloud.” If you use services such as Google Docs or Adobe Buzzword to construct documents, Flickr to share photos, or Yahoo Mail to manage email, then you are already part of the cloud. If your library uses services such as QuestionPoint or LibGuides, then it too is part of the cloud.

21TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved What exactly is cloud computing? In many ways, cloud computing is the combination of several older concepts. It combines Software as a Service (SaaS) with newer technologies that have greater broadband capacity, to reduce the overall infrastructure cost for implementing new services. In the past, if a library wanted to provide a service such as an OPAC, it would not only have to buy the software but also the hardware to run it on. This may have meant the purchase of many thousand dollars’ worth of server equipment, increased Internet connectivity, and additional support staff to maintain the equipment. With the lifespan of most computers averaging 3 - 5 years, expensive servers needed to be replaced on a routine basis. With the advent of cloud computing, libraries can now contract with hosting companies to maintain their computer equipment, eliminating the need to spend money or manpower on maintaining physical equipment or systems software. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos maintains that businesses spend on average 70% of their time maintaining the infrastructure to keep their business going and only 30% towards actual innovation (Goldner, 24). By moving routine functions such as managing servers out onto the cloud, libraries could spend more time innovating and creating better services for library users (Jordan, 8). Cloud computing has many benefits, such as scalability, reduced expenses, reliability, and ease of collaboration (Sorensen & Glassman, 245). However, on the negative side, there are concerns such as security, privacy, and access (Sorensen & Glassman, 246). The concern about access is particularly troubling, as the libraries that could often benefit the most from cloud computing, (i.e., small rural libraries) may be the ones with the least access to it. e-Books & eReaders A 2011 survey of libraries conducted by Library Journal and School Library Journal found that 82% of public libraries now offer e-books, while 95% of academic libraries do the same (Miller, 32). Furthermore, 66% of public libraries report “a steep increase” in e-book requests (Miller, 32). This data suggests that the question is no longer whether e-books are a fad, but how best to connect library users with e-book content. The building of e-book collections has raised a number of interesting questions for librarians. Among them whether it is better to buy or lease content and how much Digital Rights Management (DRM) procedures library users can tolerate. Several acquisition models exist for e-books. While most are based on procedures used to acquire hardcopy collections, the Patron-Driven Acquisitions Model (PDA) has recently captured the attention of librarians. The majority of e-book vendors now offer some version of PDA, in which the end-user triggers the purchase of e-books. Lack of standardization of PDA applications has led to a great deal of confusion for librarians. A trial of eLibrary’s implementation of PDA conducted by the Newton Gresham Library at Sam Houston State University found that “students and faculty performed admirably in the selection of titles appropriate to or recommended for an academic setting.” However, librarians need to review the terms of PDA purchases. Particular attention must be paid to the threshold for

22TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved purchasing to prevent accidental purchases and the purchase of duplicate or out-of-date materials (Shen et al., 217). Further complicating the issue is the proliferation of eReaders and Tablet Computers on the market. While these devices have existed in some form since the early 90’s, it was not until 2007 with the introduction of the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPhone that these devices became affordable for the average consumer. Since then, an estimated 10.3 million eReaders have been purchased in the United States, and as of 2010, e-books accounted for 9-10% of all book sales by publishers (Bosman). Libraries have experimented with a number of methods to make these devices available to users and to provide content for them. However, the various proprietary formats used by these devices has made the implementation cumbersome for libraries. Some vendors, such as Barnes & Noble, have worked with libraries and other educational institutions to develop tools for managing collections and making their devices compatible with existing library content provided through sources such as NetLibrary and Overdrive. Other vendors have resisted working with libraries. Only recently, Amazon agreed to a lending service for libraries managed by Overdrive.

School Librarian Certification Mandates

Summary: Data has demonstrated the positive impact of school librarians upon student learning. Certification for school librarians has been inconsistently applied and enforced across Texas and the country. There’s a growing awareness of the importance of this issue, but a consensus on how to proceed has not been achieved.

The Texas State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) clearly outlines the minimum requirements for Texas school librarian certification. Certified school librarians must hold a master’s degree, pass a graduate level exam on library media functions and supporting school curricula, and have two full years of classroom teaching experience. (Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 7, Chapter 239.60.). (Meraz-Overview).

While these state-defined parameters outline minimum standards for credentialing of school librarians, there are currently no state mandates for Texas public school library staffing. Texas school libraries are guided by the School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas adopted by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, in consultation with the State Board of Education. These guidelines for school library services offer well-researched standards, best practices, and recommendations for Texas library professionals. The problem with these standards is that they are only recommendations and not required by law. School districts do not have to follow them and are merely charged to “consider the standards in developing, implementing, or expanding library services (Texas State Library and Archives Commission).” Texas school libraries also enjoy the protection of the Commissioner’s Rules Concerning School Facilities that spells out the physical spaces and physical attributes a school library should have but does not address criteria such as funding, collection development, staffing, and more.

23TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Clearly, there are some good policies and guidelines in place as evidenced by the following links. Unfortunately, these policies do not go far enough in promoting effective and equitable school library programs for the students of Texas schools.

 State Board of Educator Certification  TAC: School Librarian Certification  TAC: Commissioner's Rules Concerning School Facilities  School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas

For a variety of reasons – primarily limited budgets - districts employ a variety of measures that are often at odds with research-based best practices for school library programming. Consequently, there has been little consistency or equality in school library funding, staffing, and programming from district to district.

With the recent general unease over educational issues and shifts in staffing of school libraries, professionals across the nation are focusing on the issue of governmental support and recognition of the role of certified school librarians as teachers by petitioning for government mandates tying federal funds to requirements for credentialed school librarians on school campuses. In Texas, legislation considered by the 82nd Legislature, HB 493 (Dutton) called for the option of examining the delivery of library services and the presence of a certified school librarian on campuses in the accreditation of districts. In a blog posting on the TLA website, Gloria Meraz, TLA spokesperson eloquently writes, “It is a detriment that no state requirement exists to ensure that every public school student has access to the services of a full-time certified librarian on campus. This omission allows districts to focus on making cuts to programs that are not required by law. Over the course of the last six months, countless school districts have reduced or cut professional library staff jobs. Despite the broad support for school library programs by parents, students, and members of the community, school librarian positions are being eliminated throughout Texas (Meraz).”

There is no issue with what constitutes school librarian certification. The bigger issue facing school librarians in many states is ‘should school districts be forced to hire only credentialed personnel?’ With no state or federal mandates in place, school libraries across the state are staffed by a wide variety of library personnel, with a wide variety of job titles, credentials, and education experience. Library personnel can range from the paraprofessional with no classroom experience or library school education to a fully certified librarian with a master’s degree in Library Science.

In reaction to this lack of consistency and equality in the staffing of our nation’s school libraries, a federal petition was recently launched on the White House website started by California librarian Seanean Shanahan. The national petition failed to meet the required number of signatures and Texas HB 493 failed to make it out of committee. However, awareness on the issue of school librarians and use of school library data has been raised and conversations are sure to continue.

Carl Harvey, the American Association of School Librarians President, commented about the petition recently on his blog, “There was a considerable amount of effort put forth by many in

24TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved our field to get to the needed 25,000 signatures. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Seanean should be commended for her efforts. Her petition did garner over 10,000 signatures (Harvey).” Many librarians on various blogs, tweets, and other venues agree that while the petition ultimately failed, the effort started some hard but healthy conversations among professionals in the field that are honest, open, and reflective of how school librarians feel.

There’s a February 6, 2012 update to the petition at - https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/ %21/petition/ensure-every-child-america-has-access-effective-school-library- program/tmlbRqfF?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl. A new petition has gathered the necessary 25,000 votes. The vote total as of that date was 27,001.

To be clear, there are several well-respected library professionals who have taken issue with the petition. The Unquiet Librarian - Buffy Hamilton - makes some valid comments in her blog describing why she is not supporting the petition as currently written. Buffy, a librarian in Georgia that does have a state requirement that calls for every school library to be staffed by a certified school library media specialist feels that the answer for school librarian programming needs to go beyond the current language of the petition. Buffy states, “We need to advocate for more than being properly staffed, open, and available for children every day because truly effective school librarians and programs go beyond staffing, accessibility, and materials Hamilton).”

There is a preponderance of evidence that demonstrates the positive impact of school librarians on student achievement, dozens of national studies point to a correlation between student scores on standardized tests and strong library programs. Scholastic Research Foundation has published a great summary of the various studies in their 3rd Edition of School Libraries Work! These studies have been cited over and over again. But as Ms. Hamilton points out, that while these studies do show correlation between "well-stocked, well-funded, well-organized school libraries staffed by a 'highly qualified' school librarian or other similarly qualified credentialed individual" and student scores, studies referenced in the language of the petition don't actually show a definitive cause and effect between the two. Perhaps the time has come to concede that while these studies do yield useful data with important implications, they don't have the definitive data decision makers are seeking (Hamilton).”

Keith Curry Lance and his colleagues at the Colorado Department of Education pioneered the first ‘state study’ in an attempt to demonstrate primarily correlated standardized language arts test scores of students to components of school library programs. After more than 22 studies have been replicated, library researchers, including Dr. Curry, are calling for us to move beyond this correlation and look at additional factors with more qualitative data involving surveying perceptions of administrators, teachers, and librarians and focusing on what services principals’ value in school libraries (Lance).

Specifics vary from state to state regarding legislatively mandated credentialed library positions, use of library data tied to school ratings systems, librarians as instructional partners, etc., The overall picture, however, all points to growing concern for the devaluation of the worth of certified school librarians and school library programs in a time when our students need expert guidance in the world of information literacy more than ever. It is clear there is much

25TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved work to be done in Texas and across the nation to fully foster and support the respect and funding school libraries need in order to meet the needs of students.

Continuous Reinvention of Our Libraries

Summary: The days of shock and resistance toward rapid and dramatic changes in our libraries need to be in the past. We must engage in continuous learning so that our libraries evolve and thrive.

Walt Kelly, creator of the Pogo comic strip, once said that “we are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” Kelly’s idea could certainly apply to today’s libraries. We have formidable obstacles. Remember, however, that the need for timely, high-quality information has never been higher.

The library industry was in shock and perhaps too resistant to change for many years after the Internet explosion started. However, library journals, conferences, blogs, wikis and other sources are now replete with suggestions, best practices, and success stories for building an effective 21st century library. As a result, many libraries are changing very rapidly. What follows is a sample of some of the current sources:

 The Fall 2011 issue of the Texas Library Journal has a guest editorial by Jennifer LaBoon of Fort Worth ISD Library Media Services titled “How will we save our profession?” She offers four recommendations for survival 1) Our teaching certification 2) Our librarian training 3) Our attitude 4) Our community (LaBoon).

 The December 2011 issue of Library Journal has a NewsDesk item titled “Florida Library Makes Ebooks Available at Airport.” The Broward County Library allows travelers at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to download free e- books while they wait for their luggage (Kelley).

 The September 1, 2011 issue of American Libraries also highlights e-book usage. It holds a brief story about the reopening of the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Reisterstown Road branch on August 10. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was the first patron to check out a Nook loaded with 22 titles (American Library Association).

 Meredith Farkas has setup a wiki titled “Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki” at http://www.libsuccess.org. In her own words:

“This wiki was created to be a one-stop shop for great ideas and information for all types of librarians. All over the world, librarians are developing successful programs and doing innovative things with technology that no one outside of their library knows about. There are lots of great blogs out there sharing information about the profession, but there is no one place where all of this information is collected and organized. That's what we're trying to do (Farkas).”

26TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Numerous reputable organizations produce reports regularly that offer a plethora of hints and specific recommendations on how to evolve and navigate the future. A few examples:  Ithaka regularly publishes studies that provide insights and suggestions for academic libraries - http://www.ithaka.org/.  Taiga provides provocative statements to help academic libraries challenge their assumptions - http://www.taiga-forum.org/.  The American Library Association (ALA) produces numerous reports that can help us to chart the future. One example is “Confronting the Future: Strategic Visions for the 21st Century Public Library” - http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oitp/publications/policybriefs/index.cfm.  OCLC publishes reports that help us think through our changing contexts. Two examples are “Libraries at Webscale” and “Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community” - http://www.oclc.org/reports/default.htm.  The Institute of Museum and Library Studies (IMLS) authored “Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills” to help libraries and museums to envision and define their roles in the 21st century - http://www.imls.gov/about/museums_libraries_and_21st_century_skills.aspx.

National and Texas Economy and Library Funding Borberly, James Marchall. "U.S. Labor Market in 2008: Economy in Recession". 2009. Monthly labor review. Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 12, 2012. http://bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/03/art1full.pdf.

BLS. "Economy at a Glance". 2012. Ed. Statistics, Bureau of Labor. Economy at a glance. Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 12, 2012. http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm.

BEA. "Gdp Growth Accelerates in Third Quarter". 2012. (November 22, 2011): GDP trends. Bureau of Economic Analysis. December 12, 2011. http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdphighlights.pdf.

Kelley, Michael. "Lj's 2010 Budget Survey: Bottoming Out?". 2011. (January 15, 2011): Severe cuts put big question marks on the future. December 12, 2011. http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/ljinprintcurrentissue/888434- 403/bottomingout.html.csp.

Kelley, Michael. "Texas Governor Signs Budget Cutting State Funding for Library Services by 88 Percent". 2011. (July 29, 2011): Library Journal. December 13, 2011. http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/891465- 264/texas_governor_signs_budget_cutting.html.csp.

Rudd, Peggy D. "Status of Library Programs and Services." Ed. Directors, Texas Public Library: Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2011. 4. Print.

TASA. "School Budgets in the News". 2011. Texas Association of School Administrators. Articles and news from around the state. December 12, 2011. http://www.tasanet.org/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=21132&Itemid=1056.

Foote, Carolyn. "Mapping School Library Cuts in Texas." Not So Distant Future, 2011.

Employment Opportunities for Librarians nationally and in Texas Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. “2010 Top Ten Trends in Academic Libraries, a Review of the Current Literature.” College and Research Libraries News. 71:6 (2010): 286-292. 30 Dec 2011 .

28TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. Environmental Scan 2010. 30 Dec. 2011. PDF. .

Beveridge, Sydney, Susan Weber and Andrew A. Beveridge. “Librarians in the U.S. from 1880- 2009,” OUPBlog. 20 June 2011. 30 Dec. 2011 http://blog.oup.com/2011/06/librarian- census/.

Kelley, Michael. “LJ 2010 Budget Survey: Bottoming out?” Libraryjournal.com. 15 Jan. 2011. 30 Dec 2011 .

Texas Workforce Commission. Texas Labor Market Information. “LMCI Tracer, The Future.” 30 Dec. 2011 .

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Librarians.” Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition. 30 Dec. 2011< http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm>.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages. May 2010, “25-4021 Librarians.” 30 Dec 2011 .

Changing Demographics of Texas and the Changing Nature of Library Patron’s Expectations De Rosa, Cathy, et. al. Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community. Dublin, Ohio : OCLC, c2011. 30 Dec. 2011. .

Fry, Richard. "Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups". 2011. Pew Hispanic Center. (August 25, 2011). .

Office of the State Demographer, State of Texas. "Projections of the Population of Texas and Counties in Texas by Age, Sex and Race/Ethnicity for 2000-2040." February 2009. < http://txsdc.utsa.edu/Data/TPEPP/Projections/2008/Methodology.pdf>.

Office of the State Demographer, State of Texas. "Population Projections Data Tool" 2011. < http://idserportal.utsa.edu/sdc/projections/>.

Torres, Cruz C. “Texas - A Majority/Minority State: Social and Economic Implications.” 2011. 2011 Texas SDC/BIDC Annual Meeting, Austin, TX. < http://txsdc.utsa.edu/Resources/Presentations/TXSDC/2011/AnnualWorkshop/sdc2011_T x_Majority_Minority_State_Torres.pptx>.

Proving Value / Accountability American Association of School Librarians, AASL Essential Links: Resources for School Library Program Development. 17 May 2011.Web. 30 Dec. 2011. .

American Library Association, State of America’s Libraries: a Report from the American Library Association. 2011. 30 Dec. 2011 .

Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. “2010 Top Ten Trends in Academic Libraries, a Review of the Current Literature.” College and Research Libraries News. 71:6 (2010): 286-292. 30 Dec 2011 .

Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. Environmental Scan 2010. 30 Dec. 2011. PDF. .

De Rosa, Cathy, et. al. Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community. Dublin, Ohio : OCLC, c2011. 30 Dec. 2011 .

Kachel, Debra E. and the graduate students of LSC 5530 School Library Advocacy, Spring 2011. “School Library Research Summarized: a Graduate Class Project.” Mansfield, PA : School of Library & Information Technologies Department, Mansfield University. 30 Dec. 2011 < http://libweb.mansfield.edu/upload/kachel/ImpactStudy.pdf> PDF.

Kolowich, Steve. “What Students Don’t Know.” Inside Higher Ed. 22 August 2011. 30 Dec. 2011 .

Levien, Roger E. Confronting the Future: Strategic Visions for the 21st Century Public Library. ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. Policy Brief, no. 4, June 2011. 30 Dec.

Long, Matthew P., Roger C. Schonfeld. Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Insights from U.S. Academic Library Directors. 2010. 30 Dec 2011 PDF. Romero, Nuria Lloret. "ROI. Measuring the Social Media Return on Investment in a Library." The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, 24.2 (2011): 145-151. Print. Technology in Libraries Bodnar, Jonathan and Ameet Doshi. “Asking the Right Questions: A Critique of Facebook, Social Media, and Libraries.” Public Services Quarterly 7.3 (2011) 102-110. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

Bosman, Julie. “Great Holiday Expectations for E-Readers.” New York Times 15 Nov. 2010: B1. Print.

Goldner, Matt. “Winds of change: libraries and cloud computing.” Multimedia Infromation & Technology 37.3 (2011): 24-28. Web. 2 Jan. 2011.

Hall, Hazel. “Relationship and role transformations in social media environments.” The Electronic Library 29.4 (2011) 421-428. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

Jordan, Jay. “Climbing Out of the Box and Into the Cloud: Building Web-Scale for Libraries.” Journal of Library Administration 51.1 (2011): 3-17. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.

Miller, Rebecca. “The Digital Shift: Dramatic Growth.” Library Journal 136.17 (2011) 32-34. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.

Romero, Nuria Lloret. “ROI. Measuring the social media return on investment in a library.” The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances 24.2 (2011) 145-151. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

Shen, Lisa et al. “Head First into the Patron-Driven Acquisition Pool: A Comparison of Librarian Selection Versus Patron Purchases.” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 23.3 (2011): 203-218. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.

Sorensen, Karen and Nancy R. Glassman. “From Desktop to Cloud: A Primer on Internet-Based Computing for Librarians.” Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries 8.3 (2011): 243-255. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.

School Librarian Certification Mandates American Association of School Libraries. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/standards.cfm.

31TLA Environmental Scan 2011-2012, Copyright © 2012 – All Rights Reserved Hamilton, Buffy. "Why I Am Not Signing The “Save Libraries” Petition." The Unquiet Librarian. N.p., 18 11 2011. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/why-i-am-not-signing-the-save- libraries-petition/.

Harvey, Carl. "School Library White House Petition – Some Thoughts and Next Steps." Library Ties. N.p., 29 11 2011. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. http://carl- harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/28/school-library-white-house-petition-–-some-thoughts- and-next-steps/.

Lance, Keith Curry. (Interviewee) (2010). The Impact of the School Impact Studies, Enough Already. [Video] Retrieved January 2, 2012, from http://vimeo.com/16517722.

Meraz, Gloria, ed. "Overview of Library Issues for the 82nd Legislature; Advocacy; Strong Texas School Libraries: Recognize that Librarians ARE Teachers Support HB 493 (Dutton)." Texas Library Association. Texas Library Association, 19/09/2011. Web. 4 Jan 2012. http://www.txla.org/sites/tla/files/Advocate/82School_Libraries.pdf.

Meraz, Gloria. "School Librarians ARE Teachers!" Texas Library Association. TLA, 03 03 2011. Web. 5 Jan. 2012. http://www.txla.org/blogs/2011/03/school-librarians-are- teachers.

Texas State Library and Archives Commission, United States, Texas. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. School library programs: standards and guidelines for Texas. Dallas: 2004. Print. https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/schoollibs/sls/index.html.

Texas. Texas Legislature. Texas Administrative Code. Austin: Texas Legislature, Web. http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.viewtac.

Continuous Reinvention of Our Libraries American Library Association, "Get Your E-Reader Here." American Libraries 42 9/10 (2011): 28. Print.

Farkas, Meredith. "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki". 2011. December 14, 2011. http://www.libsuccess.org.

Kelley, Michael. "Florida Library Makes Ebooks Available at Airport." Library Journal 136 20 (2011): 14. Print.

LaBoon, Jennifer. ""How Will We Save Our Profession?" Texas Library Journal 87 3 (2011): 74-76. Print.

The Texas Library Association has launched a strategic planning process to chart the direction of the association for the next three to five years. As an association member, you are vital for our process. Would you please give us about 5 minutes of your valuable time today to answer the following survey questions? The top responses selected by all respondents to this anonymous survey will provide valuable information for planning TLA's future.

1. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO JOIN TLA? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Attend annual conference o Commitment to serving the profession o Continuing education o Employer expectation o Encouraged by a colleague o Encouraged by my library school o Network opportunities with colleagues o Professional development o Other (please specify): ______

2. WHAT KEEPS YOU INVOLVED IN TLA AND MAKES YOU RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Attend annual conference o Attend exhibits at annual conference o Commitment to serving the profession o Continuing education o Legislative issues o Network opportunities with colleagues o Professional development o Serve on a committee or in a leadership position o Tenure and promotion at work o Other (please specify):______

o Conferences o Continuing education o Improve work related skills o Leadership development o Legislative advocacy o Network opportunities with colleagues o Professional development o Public speaking and professional publishing opportunities o Serve on a committee or in a leadership position o Other (please specify):______

4. WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT YOUR WORK? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Changing technology o Patron issues o Perceptions about the value of a library o Resistance to change by library colleagues o Resource constraints (budget, staff, space) o Time and project management o Other (please specify):______

5. WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONCEREND WITH FOR THE PROFESSION MOVING FORWARD? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Competition from other digital providers o Continuously increasing value to our communities o Generational learning styles o Hiring non-MLS degreed personnel for traditional MLS professional positions o Perceived value of libraries and librarians o Professional development o Providing current technologies o Resistance to change

6. WHAT COULD TLA PROVIDE FOR YOU THAT WOULD HELP YOU AND/OR YOUR CAREER? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Advocacy for libraries and library workers o Leadership development o Mentoring opportunities o Traditional platforms for conference attendance, continuing education, professional development, etc. o Virtual platforms for conference attendance, continuing education, professional development, etc. o Other (please specify):______

7. HOW SHOULD TLA FOCUS ITS EFFORTS FOR THE FUTURE IN A BROAD GENERAL SENSE? (Please rank your top 3 reasons in order of importance)

o Advocacy o Articulate - demonstrate - prove library value o Continuing education o Encourage creativity and entrepreneurship o More virtual versus physical everything -- webinars, conferences, meetings, etc. o Professional development o Other (please specify):______

8. WHAT TLA DISTRICT ARE YOU IN? (Check one)

o District 1 o District 2 o District 3 o District 4 o District 5 o District 6 o District 7

9. WHAT TYPE OF LIBRARY BEST DESCRIBES YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT OR ROLE? (Check one)

o Academic o Public o School o Special o Library trustee/friend/advocate o Affiliation with a library school o Vendor o Consortium o Other (please specify):______

10. CHECK THE AGE GROUP INTO WHICH YOU FALL. (Check one) o 25 and under o 26-35 o 36-45 o 46-55 o 56-65 o 66 or older

11. CHECK THE NUMBER OF YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE LIBRARY PROFESSION. (Check one)

o 0-3 o 4-10 o 11-20 o 21-30

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS THAT WILL AID US IN OUR PLANNING EFFORT?

THANKS!

We appreciate your feedback. Your input will help to make our strategic planning process a productive one. Thanks again! The TLA Strategic Planning Task Force.

0-10 11-17 18-24 25-44 45-64 65+ Total

2009 21,732, Urban Total 3,626,803 2,192,470 2,318,315 6,570,279 5,047,386 1,976,820 073

9,523,7 Anglo 1,247,526 796,224 877,336 2,543,919 2,763,363 1,295,374 42

2,601,0 Black 437,615 307,563 313,241 754,657 605,359 182,649 84

8,539,1 Hispanic 1,790,850 993,170 1,027,947 2,907,953 1,402,723 416,472 15

1,068,1 Other 150,812 95,513 99,791 363,750 275,941 82,325 32

2009 3,050,2 Rural Total 448,656 289,507 325,175 719,481 770,441 496,969 29

1,838,7 Anglo 218,459 146,877 168,388 378,396 532,429 394,154 03

261,22 Black 37,394 25,434 34,370 75,242 59,551 29,235 6

921,98 Hispanic 189,364 114,556 119,452 258,025 170,535 70,049 1

Other 3,438 2,640 2,965 7,818 7,926 3,531 28,318

0-10 11-17 18-24 25-44 45-64 65+

2015 22,832, Urban Total 3,692,485 2,279,103 2,286,685 6,514,763 5,570,017 2,489,358 411

9,759,1 Anglo 1,208,666 806,970 827,847 2,502,207 2,835,657 1,577,828 75

9,362,5 Hispanic 1,921,724 1,098,771 1,064,880 2,938,097 1,769,450 569,609 31

1,082,8 Other 141,091 96,908 95,333 317,995 309,864 121,622 13

2015 3,324,3 Rural Total 511,343 299,397 318,419 840,642 793,098 561,413 12

1,935,3 Anglo 247,140 147,858 156,372 441,362 512,392 430,221 45

285,17 Black 40,331 24,840 33,892 88,585 64,718 32,804 0

1,074,0 Hispanic 220,662 124,398 125,313 302,973 207,786 92,883 15

Other 3,210 2,301 2,842 7,722 8,202 5,505 29,782

0-10 11-17 18-24 25-44 45-64 65+

2025 26,333, Urban Total 3,848,502 2,509,672 2,623,244 7,302,358 6,253,682 3,796,069 527

9,879,2 Anglo 1,102,951 765,764 824,177 2,479,117 2,541,265 2,165,951 25

2,874,7 Black 398,958 283,509 285,633 850,530 694,606 361,501 37

12,164, Hispanic 2,202,242 1,354,256 1,385,968 3,622,737 2,590,740 1,008,191 134

1,415,4 Other 144,351 106,143 127,466 349,974 427,071 260,426 31

2025 3,563,8 Rural Total 492,647 343,726 336,407 937,863 750,586 702,654 83

296,22 Black 34,601 26,031 31,755 96,391 62,906 44,543 7

1,284,3 Hispanic 234,388 151,186 145,017 368,977 246,515 138,242 25

Other 2,901 2,028 2,404 8,170 7,475 9,000 31,978

0-10 11-17 18-24 25-44 45-64 65+

2035 30,041, Urban Total 4,157,971 2,624,779 2,784,336 8,361,176 7,038,229 5,075,029 520

9,769,0 Anglo 1,006,278 700,571 756,832 2,400,014 2,422,781 2,482,553 29

3,045,0 Black 376,384 265,168 289,554 873,903 757,628 482,451 88

15,432, Hispanic 2,603,386 1,549,275 1,612,695 4,641,048 3,374,765 1,651,721 890

1,794,5 Other 171,923 109,765 125,255 446,211 483,055 458,304 13

30,041, 520

2035 3,748,1 Rural Total 494,311 323,556 357,579 944,847 847,084 780,800 77

1,912,9 Anglo 204,184 140,939 158,350 430,784 450,981 527,755 93

300,59 Black 31,698 21,590 31,182 89,072 75,688 51,369 9

1,501,5 Hispanic 255,868 159,159 165,820 417,919 312,672 190,136 74

Other 2,561 1,868 2,227 7,072 7,743 11,540 33,011