Towards an assessment of public library value:

statistics on the policy makers’ agenda

Kristine Paberza

Department of Information and Library Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia

Public Library Development Project “Third Father’s Son”, State Agency “Culture Information Systems”

Latviao The central country of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania)

o In North-eastern Europe, on the east coast of the Baltic Sea

o In 1991 Latvia became independent from the Soviet Union

o Democratic, parliamentary republic

o Memberships:European Union, NATO, United Nations Organization, Council of Europe, World Trade Organization, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, etc.

o Area: 64,589 sq.km or 24,937 sq. miles

o Population: 2,270,700

o Ethnic composition:59.03% Latvian,28.29% Russian,3.74% Belorussian,2.53% Ukrainian,6.41% other nationalities

o Official language: Latvian

Libraries in LatviaLibrary system in Latvia:o Latvian National Library;

o Latvian Academic Library;

o 864 public libraries;

o Latvian Library for the Blind with 7 branches in regions;

o 45 special libraries;

o 48 libraries belonging to institutions of higher education;

o 1062 school libraries

o There is one library per 1123 residents

o 46% of population use library services

o 240 library users per one librarian

The Riga City Library (Bibliotheca Rigensis) was established in 1524 and it is considered to be one of the first public libraries in Europe!

Trešais tēva dēls – Third Father’s Son

Global Libraries initiative in LatviaThrough strengthening capacities

of public libraries to facilitate proactive use of ICT resources

among people in Latvia thus striving to improve the quality of their

lives

Third Father’s Son is a hero from Latvian folk legend who brought light to an entire country

Impact Planning and Assessment for Development

Information Society Development Guidelines

for 2006 – 2013

To create a knowledge-based economy and to improve the quality of life, to ensure that everybody can and will use the possibilities offered by ICT and content in order to

achieve this objective

Baseline study

Interim impact

assessment study

Final impact

assessment study

National statistics

In-depth study:Library value, trust and

user satisfaction

In-depth study:PAC cost-benefit

analysis, ROI

In-depth study: Impact on information society development

Context of the study

Approach to the study Context oriented research approach (Durrance, 2002)

Information ecology approach (Davenport & Prusak, 1997; Stepp, 1999)

Theory of use-oriented value of information and information services (Saracevic & Kantor, 1997)

Ecological theory of human information behavior (Williamson, 2005)

Main research questions

1. What is the value of public library in society in general and at the level of local community?

2. What is the trust level in public libraries, librarians and information received through library?

3. What is the satisfaction with public library services?

Data collection instruments

Representative survey of inhabitantsof Latvia (n=1064) including library users as well as non-users

Information ecology mapping duringFDGs (n=10) covering both urbanas well as rural areas

Information needs

Education

Health

Housing

Transport

Employment

Sport

Leisure, culture

Community activities

Rights & reponsibilities

Shopping

Politics

31%

51%

33%

43%

53%

22%

40%

33%

40%

40%

38%

Information sources

Relatives

Friends

Colleagues

Newspapers

Internet

TV

Radio

Reference service

Public library

Educational institution

Health care institution

State administration

Municipality

Private organization

63%

69%

46%

52%

57%

50%

33%

22%

16%

18%

34%

22%

23%

16%

Satisfaction of information needspersonal networks

Relatives

Friends

Colleagues

49%

34%

32%

3%

5%

5%

Didn't receive necessary informationCompletely received necessary information

Satisfaction of information needsmedia sources

Newspapers

Internet

TV

Radio

24%

44%

27%

25%

12%

5%

9%

12%

Didn't receive necessary informationCompletely received necessary information

Satisfaction of information needsinstitutional sources

Reference service

Public library

Educational institution

Health care institution

State administration

Municipality

Private organization

66%

52%

54%

39%

39%

44%

39%

5%

3%

2%

9%

11%

9%

14%

Didn't receive necessary informationCompletely received necessary information

Trust in information sources

Relatives

Friends

Colleagues

Newspapers

Internet

TV

Radio

Reference service

Public library

Educational institution

Health care institution

State administration

Municipality

Private organization

33%

17%

9%

10%

13%

15%

14%

34%

22%

22%

19%

17%

17%

7%

11%

19%

18%

23%

16%

19%

16%

9%

6%

8%

12%

13%

14%

16%

38%

47%

42%

36%

27%

33%

31%

22%

18%

24%

34%

26%

29%

22%

7%

8%

10%

11%

10%

9%

8%

5%

4%

4%

8%

8%

7%

13%

Never have to verify Often verify Sometimes verify Always verify

Usage of municipality services

Environmental

Public transport

Culture & leisure

Sport

Educational

Social

Housing

Health care

70%

77%

58%

31%

44%

31%

9%

71%

Have used

71%

64%

64%

44%

53%

33%

21%

52%

Satisfied

Usage of culture & leisure services

Museums, galleries

Objects of cultural heritage

Public library

Cultural centre, recreational hall

34%

44%

39%

48%

46%

41%

58%

47%

Didn't use Used

42%

46%

47%

50%

Satisfied

13%

15%

18%

8%

To increase funding

11%

3%

4%

2%

To decrease funding

Quality of staff performance

Teachers

Doctors, medics

Municipality administration

Librarians

Kindergarten staff

Social workers

Cultural hall staff

Museum staff

Municipal policemens

Public facilities service staff

59%

57%

26%

58%

46%

42%

49%

45%

37%

42%

satisfied

14%

35%

57%

3%

4%

19%

10%

4%

40%

30%

dissatisfied

27%

8%

17%

39%

50%

39%

41%

51%

23%

28%

hard to evaluate

Satisfaction with library services

Book issuance

Reading room

Computer

Internet

Databases

Library catalogue

Librarians assistance (information)

Librarians consultation (computer/Internet)

Training courses

Cultural events

78%

54%

23%

33%

14%

16%

44%

13%

5%

19%

Usage of library services

83%

77%

87%

80%

76%

75%

81%

84%

70%

80%

Satisfied

14%

18%

10%

17%

22%

19%

17%

13%

30%

16%

Rather satisfied

Experienced benefits

To save, earn money

To do gainful shopping

To find a job

To improve at job

To engage in social life

To deal with issues around family and children

To help children at school

To get information for leisure hours

To get information on health issues

To get information for studies

To learn foreign languages

To get reading for leisure hours

28%

9%

19%

24%

29%

30%

54%

48%

51%

63%

35%

67%

Conclusions Context-oriented information ecology approach allows

measuring magnitude of public library importance

Exploration of information needs and information ecology of local communities allows identifying of potential areas of development for public libraries

Public library is trusted as information source since it provides reliable and credible information

Quality of public library staff performance is highly valued

Public library makes an effect on users mostly in areas of leisure and education; economic effects are also identified

THANK YOU!

Kristine PaberzaImpact Assessment Specialist

State Agency “Culture Information Systems”53-2 Terbatas StreetRiga, LV-1011, LatviaPhone: +371 67 844 887Fax: +371 67 843 084E-mail: kristine.paberza@3td.lvWeb: www.3td.lv