IMLS: Program Attendance Still Rising

摘要

On June 18, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) released the results of its 2011 Public Libraries in the United States Survey. While the survey is undertaken every year, the latest numbers from 2011 represent the study's first attempt to use multi-variate statistical modeling to take a deep dive into library circulation and visitation numbers. The results of that analysis verify that when communities invest in libraries, those libraries see increased use. Since IMLS took the reins of the annual survey from the Department of Education in 2007, it has continually added new wrinkles and metrics to the report, seeking to understand and analyze better the reams of data gathered annually, said Carlos Manjarrez, IMLS director of operations, research, and evaluation. Previous years saw geocod-ing added to data so that libraries could be pinpointed geographically, followed by the addition of location analysis, which improved the ability of data analysts to look beyond the aggregate numbers the survey collects and ferret out developing trends in urban versus rural libraries.