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2016 ALA State of America's Libraries Report

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SPECIAL ISSUE THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 20I6 THE STATE OF AMERICA’S LIBRARIES A Report from the American Library Association Top Ten Challenged Books n Libraries Transform The State of America’s Libraries A REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 2016 Edited by Kathy Rosa, Director Office for Research and Statistics American Library Association ABOUT ALA The American Library Association (ALA), the voice of America’s libraries, is the oldest, largest, and most influential library association in the world. Its approximately 58,000 members are primarily librarians but also trustees, publishers, and other library supporters. The Association represents all types of libraries; its mission is to promote the highest-quality library and information services and public access to information. CONTENTS THE STATE OF AMERICA’S LIBRARIES THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Special Issue April 2016 | ISSN 0002-9769 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY americanlibrariesmagazine.org email [email protected] toll free 800-545-2433 plus extension local 312-944-6780 • fax 312-440-0901 5 INTRODUCTION online career classified ads: JobLIST.ala.org Editor and Publisher Laurie D. Borman • [email protected] • x4213 7 ACADEMIC LIBRARIES Managing Editor Sanhita SinhaRoy • [email protected] • x4219 Senior Editor Amy Carlton • [email protected] • x5105 9 SCHOOL LIBRARIES Senior Editor George M. Eberhart • [email protected] • x4212 Associate Editor Terra Dankowski • [email protected] • x5282 12 PUBLIC LIBRARIES Associate Editor Phil Morehart • [email protected] • x4218 Editorial and Advertising Assistant Patrick Burke • [email protected] • x4216 14 ISSUES AND TRENDS design and production 14 Children’s and Teen Services Art Director Rebecca Lomax 15 Literacy publishing department 16 Libraries Transform Associate Executive Director Donald Chatham 17 Community Engagement Rights, Permissions, Reprints Mary Jo Bolduc • x5416 18 Intellectual Freedom membership development 19 Accreditation Standards Director Ron Jankowski advisory committee Luren E. Dickinson (Chair), Helen Ruth Adams, 22 NATIONAL ISSUES AND TRENDS Ernie J. Cox, Christine Korytnyk Dulaney, 22 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Joseph M. Eagan, Tina Franks, Megan Hodge Interns Tom Bober, Lee A. Cummings 22 Privacy in the Digital Age Editorial policy: ALA Policy Manual, section A.8.2 23 Federal Library Funding advertising 23 Calls to Action in Support of Libraries Michael Stack • [email protected] • 847-367-7120 Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement. ALA reserves the right to refuse 24 RESOURCES advertising. indexed Available full text from ProQuest, EBSCO Publishing, 30 CONTRIBUTORS H. W. Wilson, LexisNexis, Information Access, JSTOR. subscribe Libraries and other institutions: $70/year, 6 issues, US, Canada, and Mexico; foreign: $80. Subscription price for individuals included in ALA membership dues. 800-545-2433 x5108, email [email protected], or visit ala.org. Claim missing issues: ALA Member and Customer Service. Allow six weeks. published American Libraries (ISSN 0002-9769) is published 6 times special issue april 2016 yearly with occasional supplements by the American | Library Association (ALA). Printed in USA. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Personal members: Send address changes to American Libraries, c/o Membership Records, ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ©2016 American Library Association. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced or republished without written permission from the publisher. americanlibrariesmagazine.org 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY cademic, school, and public libraries continue to face an uncertain economy as they shift resources and services to meet Athe needs of the 21st-century digital world. The American Library Association launched a new public awareness campaign, called “Libraries Transform,” in 2015. Libraries Transform seeks to shift the mindset that growing body of evidence demonstrating the positive “libraries are obsolete or nice to have” to “libraries are contributions of academic libraries to student learning essential,” and change the perception that “libraries are and success in five key areas: just quiet places to do research, find a book, and read” to n improved information literacy competencies for “libraries are centers of their communities: places to first-year students learn, create, and share, with the help of library staff and n increased student success in connection with library the resources they provide.” The Libraries Transform usage campaign is designed to increase public awareness of the n documented student retention with library instruc- value, impact, and services provided by library profes- tion special issue april 2016 n | sionals and libraries of all types. demonstrated library contributions to collaborative About half of the chief academic officers at US colleges academic student support and universities believe their institutions have not yet n enhanced student learning with library research recovered from the 2008 economic downturn. The pres- consultation services sure on higher education to demonstrate value remained The value of certified school librarians continues to grow the top issue facing academic libraries. as administrators and teachers seek education resources to The Association of College and Research Libraries As- better serve tech-savvy students. Among other things, sessment in Action program, funded by an Institute of administrators are looking to school librarians to help Museum and Library Services grant, lends support to the them incorporate digital educational resources and lead americanlibrariesmagazine.org 2 blended-learning activities in schools, resulting in more place for an increasingly divided populace to come to- equity, connectivity, and personalization to instruction. gether. In the last six years, school librarians have seen sig- nificant changes both in what they are providing to teach- Access and challenges ers and students, as well as the challenges they are Library books and other materials continue to be chal- confronting to support digital content. In 2010, for ex- lenged. In July 2015, a Harris poll on attitudes about book ample, only 35% of school librarians indicated they were banning and school libraries revealed that out of the 2,244 acquiring digital content. By 2015, that number had in- US adults who participated, the percentage (28%) who felt creased to 69%. This trend is re- that certain books should be banned flected across a variety of formats, increased by more than half since particularly databases, ebooks, peri- the previous survey (18%) con- odicals, videos, and games. Summer reading ducted in 2011. The vital role public libraries play is evolving into Out of 275 challenges recorded by in communities has expanded to in- the American Library Association’s clude services and programs for child- summer learning. (ALA) Office for Intellectual Free- hood literacy, computer training, and dom, the “Top Ten Most Challenged workforce development. Librarians Books in 2015” are: know their programs and services have an impact, but 1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green many libraries do not have the measures and tools to Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and demonstrate the difference they make in the lives of their unsuited for age group. patrons. 2. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James Public libraries are continually required to assess their Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, value. To receive funding, they must provide more than and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group just attendance and circulation counts. Traditional output of teenagers will want to try it”). data only captures quantitative data, or how much is done; 3. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings libraries are increasingly seeking to measure quality, or Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, the good that is done. As a result, more libraries are con- religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group. ducting outcome measurements to better demonstrate 4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, their impact on their community members. by Susan Kuklin Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosex- Issues and trends uality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious Libraries are responding to the ever-changing needs of viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other children and teens. Summer reading, a longstanding (“wants to remove from collection to ward off com- campaign in public libraries, is evolving into summer plaints”). learning. Summer programs have flourished in recent 5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the years; they now integrate traditional reading activities Night-Time, by Mark Haddon with others that explore such special interests as the arts, Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and digital learning. atheism”). Libraries are using design thinking to reimagine ser- 6. The Holy Bible vices and spaces for teen patrons, and they are also ex- Reasons: Religious viewpoint. perimenting with ways to help teens apply design thinking 7. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel to their own learning experiences. Opportunities for teen Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”). special issue april 2016 creativity include dedicated makerspaces, tinkerlabs, and 8. Habibi, by Craig
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