[PL-Directors] Pew Research Center Internet and American Life Project surveys-please participate

[MaryKay Dahlgreen]

The Gates Foundation is funding a national research effort<http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/09/a-sneak-peak-at-our-research-timeline/> to study the changing role of librarians, library users, and the general public in the digital age.  The Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project<http://libraries.pewinternet.org/> is conducting the surveys and analyzing the data as related to reading/e-reading; changes in library services and the choices libraries are making; and if/how the digital age is changing how people use books and libraries.

Chances are you have heard the name of the Pew Research Center in the national media.  The organization is a highly-respected, national leader in non-partisan public research.  With Pew and the Gates Foundation spearheading these efforts, we will get the kind of data-driven information we need to address changing community needs now and in the future. But, it cannot happen without your input.



The first major report in this series was just released and examines the "rise of e-reading" and how people find/consume digital content (i.e. e-books). The report, which is fascinating and includes some amazing findings, can be found at libraries.pewinternet.org<http://libraries.pewinternet.org/>.


Your help is needed in two ways for the next report to be successful.  This report will look specifically at people's experiences in public libraries, especially their use of e-books & other digital services. To gather this research, Pew has developed two (2) online surveys:


1.       The first is targeted at librarians.  Please take this fifteen (15) minute survey at  http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-lenders! The login is your preferred email address as the username; the password is PEWLIBS.



2.       The second is for library patrons at http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers. It also takes about 15 minutes, but does NOT require a username or password.
To help you get the word out to your patrons, Pew has created a brief message (available below) that you can share through your website, e-newsletters, social media and other dissemination methods, as well as a flyer and code that can be used to embed the survey on your library's website. To get the Web code or the flyer, please contact Kathryn Zickuhr at kzickuhr at pewinternet.org<mailto:kzickuhr at pewinternet.org>.

The survey completion deadline is May 18, 2012.  The report will be issued this summer.

Thank you in advance for completing the survey yourself and for getting the message out to your patrons!



Patron message template:  How do you use your library?

The Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project is conducting an online survey of library patrons. We ask that you take the survey to help us out.  All responses will be confidential. The survey should take about 15 minutes.

To take the survey, visit: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers

The Pew Internet Project will also be doing other general surveys of library patrons, as well as non-library-users who own e-readers or tablet computers. If you would like to participate future surveys, sign up here<http://eepurl.com/g-z9-/> to be notified.

To learn more about the Pew Internet Project's research on e-reading and libraries, which is entirely free and available to the public, visit libraries.pewinternet.org<http://libraries.pewinternet.org/>.




MaryKay Dahlgreen
State Librarian
Oregon State Library
marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us
503-378-4367

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