research about public libraries

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) examines when, where, and how library services are changing to meet the needs of the public. These data, supplied annually by public libraries across the country, provide information that policymakers and practitioners can use to make informed decisions about the support and strategic management of libraries. Browse research briefs and over 25 years of  research publications about the Public Libraries Survey (PLS).

Purpose: The survey provides statistics on the status of public libraries in the United States.

Coverage: The data are collected from approximately 9,000 public libraries with approximately 17,000 individual public library outlets (main libraries, branches, and bookmobiles) in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and outlying territories.

Content: Data includes information about library visits, circulation, size of collections, public service hours, staffing, electronic resources, operating revenues and expenditures and number of service outlets. Learn more about PLS data element definitions.

Frequency: Collected annually since 1988. (Data files are available since 1992.)

Methods: At the state level, PLS is administered by Data Coordinators, appointed by the chief officer of the state library agency from each state or outlying area. State Data Coordinators collect the requested data from local public libraries and report these data to us via a web-based reporting system.

Use: PLS data are useful to researchers, journalists, the public, local practitioners, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels, and are used for planning, evaluation, and policy making. Download the datasets in multiple formats below, or use our online Library Search & Compare tool to find a library and browse the latest available data.

About the Data Files

The data files available on our web site are public-use data files. These files have had some data removed to protect the confidentiality of individually identifiable survey respondents. Public-use data files are publicly available without restriction, and do not require a license. Survey data are coded or aggregated without individually identifiable information. Data that could be directly identified with one individual (salaries and wages for librarians for a library with one librarian, for example) are removed.

A small proportion of the data that has been collected are in restricted-use data files, which contain individually identifiable information, which is confidential and protected by law. For more information on restricted-use data files, please contact us .

About the Documentation Files

The documentation files include information on survey design, imputation, and data suppression; record layouts; and appendices containing the survey questionnaire and data definitions. The record layouts (usually in one or more appendices) provide:

• Variable names: This is the field name (also called the data element name).
• Field lengths and start positions: Use these to import data from the ASCII-format file into other software applications. They indicate where each field starts in the record and how long it is.
• Data types: This is the type of data (numeric, text, date, etc.) in the field.
• Descriptions: Gives the definition or more detail about the field or variable.
• Data Files – CSV (ZIP 3 MB), SAS (ZIP 4 MB), and SPSS (ZIP 5 MB)
• Data File Documentation and User's Guide (PDF 2 MB) NEW!
• Research Brief: Methodological Improvements to the Public Libraries Survey NEW!
• Data File Documentation and User's Guide (PDF 2 MB)
• Research Brief: Changes in Public Library Services as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continued Through FY 2021
• Data Files – CSV (ZIP 3 MB), SAS (ZIP 4 MB), and SPSS (ZIP 3 MB)
• Documentation (PDF 2.33 MB)
• Infographic: How Public Libraries Adapted at the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 2022 (PDF 1.2MB)
• Research Brief: Access to Public Library Services During the First Nine Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic, May 2023

Data Files – CSV (ZIP 3 MB), SAS (ZIP 4 MB), and SPSS  (ZIP 5 MB) Documentation (PDF 2.55 MB) Public Libraries in the United States: Findings from the FY 2019 Public Libraries Survey Supplementary Tables List (XLS 22 KB)

• Tables 1-6A: Number and Percentage of Public Libraries by Select Characteristics  (XLS 116 KB)
• Tables 7-13A: Public Library Revenue and Expenses  (XLS 124 KB)
• Tables 14-25A: Public Library Services, Resources, and Programs  (XLS 465 KB)
• Tables 26-27A: Public Library Staffing  (XLS 50 KB)
• Tables 28-28A: Size of Public Libraries  (XLS 32 KB)
• Tables 29-43: State Rankings on Key Variables  (XLS 106 KB)
• Data Files - CSV (ZIP 3.1 MB), SAS (ZIP 3.9 MB), and SPSS (ZIP 4.6 MB)
• Supplementary Tables (PDF 3MB), Supplementary Tables Excel (ZIP 593 KB)
• Documentation (PDF 2.7 MB)
• Research Brief (PDF 342 KB)
• Data Files - CSV  (ZIP 3.1MB),  SAS  (ZIP 3.8MB), and  SPSS  (ZIP 4.8MB)
• Documentation (PDF 1.9MB)
• Annual Report Volume 1 , Volume 2
• Rural Libraries in America: An Infographic Overview State Detail Tables: Rural Libraries in America (Download Excel:  XLSX 84KB) (Download  PDF 163KB)
• Supplementary Tables (PDF 2.9MB)
• State Profiles
• News Release - July 16, 2020
• News Release  - November 30, 2020

The FY 2016 PLS shows that public libraries continue to evolve to meet changing community needs. More than 171 million registered users, representing over half of the nearly 311 million Americans who lived within a public library service area, visited public libraries over 1.35 billion times in 2016. Public libraries offered half a million more programs in 2016 than in 2015; 113 million people attended 5.2 million programs in 2016. In addition, the number of electronic materials continued to grow, with public libraries offering over 391 million e-books to their patrons in the United States.

• Data Files -  CSV  (ZIP 3.12MB),  SAS  (ZIP 3.87MB), and SPSS (ZIP 4.85MB) 
• Documentation  (PDF 4.35MB) 
• Annual Report
• Supplementary Tables  (PDF 4.6MB),  User Note 1  (PDF 41KB), and User Note 2 (PDF 42KB) 
• State Profiles  
• Data Element Definitions  (PDF 1.4MB)

The FY 2015 PLS shows that the trends noted in previous years are continuing. Nearly 311 million Americans lived within a public library service area in 2015, an increase from 306 million in 2014. Public libraries offered 4.7 million programs in 2015, attended by 106 million people, 4 million more attendees than the previous year. In addition, the number of electronic materials, including audio, video and e-books, continued to grow, increasing by over 50 percent between 2014 and 2015. 

• Data Files -  CSV  (ZIP),  SAS  (ZIP), and SPSS (ZIP) 
• Documentation  (PDF 1.9MB)
• Annual Report  
• State Profiles  (PDF 6.3MB) 
• Supplementary Tables  (PDF 4.4MB) and User Note  (PDF 53KB)
• News Release  - August 2, 2018

The 2014 PLS shows libraries continuing to adapt to 21st century needs and a growing population. More than 306 million Americans lived within a public library service area in 2014, compared to 305 million in 2013. Libraries offered more children and young adult programs, with an estimated 5 million more Americans attending library programs compared to the previous year. In addition, the number of downloadable audio, video, and electronic books available to the public grew significantly.

• Data Files -  CSV (ZIP) and SAS (ZIP)
• Documentation (PDF)
• Supplementary Tables (PDF)
• Data Element Definitions (PDF)

The 2013 PLS shows libraries are responding to changing 21st century needs. PLS FY 2013 provides aggregated local, state and national information about the nation’s 9,000 public libraries and their 16,500 branches and bookmobiles. Ninety-six percent of the population, or 305 million people, lived within a public library service area in 2013, and Americans made an average of almost four million visits each day to public libraries that year.

• Geospatial Data Files -  ESRI shapefile (ZIP), GeoJSON (ZIP), and KML (ZIP)
• Annual Report (PDF)
• Supplementary Tables
• News Release - March 15, 2016

In 2012, Americans made 1.5 billion trips to public libraries in the United States—the equivalent of more than 4.1 million visits each day, indicating there is a high demand for the resources and services of the nation’s approximate 9,000 public libraries. FY 2012 was characterized by stabilization. After postrecession declines in visitation, circulation, revenue and staffing, these measures of public library use and resources remained similar to prior year levels.

• Fact Sheet (PDF)
• News Release - January 26, 2015

There were 1.53 billion in-person visits to public libraries in FY 2011—equivalent to over 4.2 million visits each day. The FY 2011 PLS also shows how library service is fundamentally changing. Reductions in physical visits to the library are associated with investments in e-materials such as e-books, which may indicate that services are moving online, allowing people to perform library transactions such as checking availability of materials, checking them out and returning them online.

• Documentation (PDF) and User Note (PDF)
• Research Brief on Small and Rural Libraries
• News Release - June 18, 2014

In 2010, there were 8,951 public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia with 17,078 public library branches and bookmobiles. These public libraries served 297.6 million people throughout the United States, a number that is equivalent to 96.4 percent of the total U.S. population. The FY 2010 PLS shows how libraries are doing more with less—with local government taking on a larger funding role as state support declines.

• News Release - January 22, 2013
• Documentation (PDF), User Note (PDF), and Bridge Study of Imputation Methods (PDF)
• Research Brief on 10-Year Service Trends (PDF)
• Special Report on 5-Year Trends (PDF)

FY 2005 PLS and Earlier

Please note that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted the FY 2005 and earlier surveys and produced the data files and reports.

Note: The electronic codebook and database (ZIP) are available for FY 2000.

Annual reports, but not data files, are available for PLS FY 1991  (PDF), FY 1990  (PDF), and FY 1989  (PDF).

• Access through  your organization
• Purchase PDF

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Introduction, section snippets, references (74), cited by (12).

Library & Information Science Research

State of the art review where's the value the worth of public libraries: a systematic review of findings, methods and research gaps.

• • Systematic reviews of library value provide supportive metrics for advocating public library worth and future development.
• • The interconnectivity between resources and public library components is key for enhancing value.
• • The review presents empirical findings that emphasize the social role of public libraries.
• • Future research that demonstrate how different types of library value embeds within public libraries is needed.

Problem statement

Literature review, search strategy, what documentation exists the value within public library institutions, acknowledgements, use of library space and the library as place, how do public libraries function as meeting places, public libraries: a meeting place for immigrant women, the public library as therapeutic landscape: a qualitative case study, health and place, the image of an institution: politicians and the urban library project, do public libraries contribute to social capital: a preliminary investigation into the relationship, how do public libraries create social capital an analysis of interactions between library staff and patrons, perceived outcomes of public libraries, examining libraries as public sphere institutions: mapping questions, methods, theories, findings, and research gaps, libraries and return on investment (roi): a meta-analysis, new library world, uk public library roles and value: a focus group analysis, journal of librarianship and information science, the public library as resistive space in the neoliberal city, city and community, how do politicians and central decision-makers view public libraries the case of norway, the ifla journal, the public library as a meeting-place in a multicultural and digital context: the necessity of low-intensive meeting-places, journal of documentation, public libraries as public sphere institutions: a comparative study of perceptions of the public library's role in six european countries, public libraries, social capital, and low intensive meeting places, information research, social network analysis of public access computing: relationships as a critical benefit of libraries, telecenters and cybercafés in developing countries, proceedings of the 2012 iconference, building digitally inclusive communities: the roles of public libraries in digital inclusion and development, systematic approaches to a successful literature review, public libraries: political vision versus public demand, aslib proceedings, issue desk: an ethnography of participation, engagement and social life in an everyday public library (unpublished doctoral dissertation), public libraries positively impact quality of life: a big data study, public library quarterly, the value of california’s public libraries, under construction: towards a framework for cultural value, cultural trends, the library improving life for older adults, library trends, knowledge in dialogue: empowerment and learning in public libraries, journal of information, communication and ethics in society, the complex library, city councillors and the mission of public libraries, social and digital empowerment of vulnerable library users of the muricia regional library, spain, el profesional de la información, engaging with community engagement: public libraries and citizen involvement, community resilience and the role of the public library, social capital and inclusion in rural public libraries: a qualitative approach, keepin' it rural: the role of rural public library educational programming and outreach in community economic sustainability efforts (unpublished doctoral dissertation), rural public libraries' role in community economic development, what is it worth, public library journal, leisure role of public libraries: user views, rural libraries building communities (unpublished doctoral dissertation), “youth service librarians…are not just providers of books”: caregivers' perceptions of the value of public library services during the covid-19 pandemic, how can we better serve children with disabilities public library accessibility recommendations from early intervention coordinators, the value of digital and physical library services in uk public libraries and why they are not interchangeable, how to measure service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty of public library users: application of library customer satisfaction index (lcsi) lite model, children’s librarians’ conceptualizations of school readiness, “still open and here for you”: news media’s framing of canadian public libraries during covid-19.

Theorizing Public Libraries as Public Spheres in Library and Information Science

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• First Online: 19 March 2020
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• Håkon Larsen 12  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12051))

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During the 21 st century, library and information scholars have set out to theorize the role of public libraries as public spheres. Most of this research is engaging with Habermas’ early work on the structural transformation of the public sphere. Even though Habermas has continued to develop his theories on the public sphere and deliberative democracy throughout his carrier, library and information scholars have to a limited degree engaged with his more recent work. Simply relying on Habermas’s early work when theorizing public libraries as public spheres is limiting, but in addition to getting up to speed on Habermas’ theoretical development, library and information scholars should also familiarize themselves with a broader set of public sphere theories. In this paper, I will give a short presentation of Habermas’ work of relevance for public libraries, I will give a short presentation of some additional theories of public spheres, and I will present key concepts in studies of public libraries as public spheres within library and information science. I will conclude with some thought on how to move forward when theorizing public libraries as public spheres within library and information science.

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Larsen, H. (2020). Theorizing Public Libraries as Public Spheres in Library and Information Science. In: Sundqvist, A., Berget, G., Nolin, J., Skjerdingstad, K. (eds) Sustainable Digital Communities. iConference 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12051. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43687-2_46

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National Data About Public Libraries

This webpage is intended to serve as a clearinghouse for datasets about public libraries, public datasets that have a library element included in them, or census-like data sites that could help library staff gather information about their communities. If you have questions or would like to share your favorite public dataset, please email [email protected] .

Key Characteristics

IMLS Public Library Survey and its Library Search & Compare Tool : The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) examines when, where, and how library services are changing to meet the needs of the public. These data, supplied annually by public libraries across the country, provide information that policymakers and practitioners can use to make informed decisions about the support and strategic management of libraries. The Library Search & Compare tool provides an easy way to view data and gather peer comparisons from the Public Libraries Survey.

State-by-State Public Library Data : Public library statistics published on state library websites.

Collections

Urban Library Council’s Fine Free Map : An interactive map to help you understand and learn from libraries that have gone fine free.

Social Work

Map of library-social work collaborations : View social work collaborations throughout the United States and Canada on an interactive map. Reliant on library-reported data, this map shows a variety of targeted staff commitments designed to support social service needs within the community.

Data Training for Libraries

Research Institute for Public Libraries : Launched in 2015 by the Colorado State Library (CSL) and the Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC), RIPL is a singular event for public library leaders and others interested in public library data and evaluation. In this immersive, bootcamp-style event, participants learn practical, strategic methods of gathering, analyzing, and using data for planning, management, and communicating impact.

PLA’s Data Pathways : This tool and resource guide will serve as a professional development guide that can be used to move library staff forward to become data competent. As library professionals it has become increasingly important to be able to gather, analyze, and communicate data in order to navigate a data-rich world and make data-driven decisions related to funding, policies, and other resources needed to support the communities we serve.

Publicly Available Datasets that Include Libraries

Hard to Count 2020 : The goal of this map is to highlight the areas of the country that are hardest to count for the 2020 Census, and to provide information to local, regional/statewide, and national organizations who are working to make sure these hard-to-count areas and populations are fully counted to help ensure a fair and accurate census. This includes the option to overlay library locations on the hard to count map.

NTIA Digital Nation Data Explorer: Internet Use at a Public Place (Library, Community Center, Park, etc.) : The National Telecommunications and Information and Administration’s Data Explorer enables easy tracking of metrics about computer and Internet use over time. Simply choose a metric of interest from the drop-down menu. The default Map mode depicts percentages by state, while Chart mode allows metrics to be broken down by demographics and viewed as either percentages of the population or estimated numbers of people or households.

From Awareness to Funding : OCLC partnered with the American Library Association (ALA) and its Public Library Association (PLA) division to investigate current perceptions and support among U.S. voters and how they may have shifted since 2008 when OCLC published From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America , a national study of the awareness, attitudes, and underlying motivations among U.S. voters for supporting library funding.

Publicly Available Datasets About Communities

Census : The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. It’s goal is to provide the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality and cost for the data collected and services provided.

FCC’s Fixed Broadband Deployment : This application provides a visualization of the residential fixed broadband deployment data collected on FCC Form 477. Facilities-based providers of broadband report fixed-broadband deployment data at the census block level. Form 477 data are reported using 2010 Census blocks.

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How public libraries help build healthy communities

Subscribe to the economic studies bulletin, marcela cabello and marcela cabello former research analyst - economic studies stuart m. butler stuart m. butler senior fellow - economic studies.

March 30, 2017

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Increasingly in the United States, you also can’t judge a library’s value to its community by simply its books. Let us explain.

In a previous blog post, we’ve noted the importance of “third places” in strengthening communities – meaning those places that are neither one’s home (first place) nor workspace (second place). A range of such third places, from churches to beauty salons, play an important role in community building. They are the informal spaces that are often mainstays in a neighborhood, places where both random and intentional in-person relationships are made.

Related Content

Stuart M. Butler, Carmen Diaz

September 14, 2016

Several things are necessary for a particular place to play this role. Location and accessibility are important, of course. But so are trust and a sense of neutrality; they are usually the keys to success, whether the place is a house of worship, a family-owned diner, or a barbershop.

As the earlier piece explained, public spaces and buildings can become important and successful third places. And one particularly interesting, emerging and important example is the public library.

Public libraries exist in urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods, and typically they have a long history in their community. According to a 2015 Pew survey, almost two-thirds of adult Americans say that closing their local library would have a major impact on their community . As Pew found, over 90 percent of adults think of public libraries as “welcoming and friendly places,” and about half have visited or otherwise used a public library in the last 12 months.

Reimagining the Librarian

A reason public libraries are seen as such important third-place institutions is that they and their librarians have gradually taken on other functions well beyond lending out books. In many communities, librarians are also ad hoc social workers and navigators. They help local people figure out the complexities of life, from navigating the health system to helping those with housing needs. This “go-to” role has influenced library programming and events, with libraries providing advice and connections to health, housing, literacy, and other areas.

Other sectors, such as health care, increasingly see public libraries as a critical link to a community. For instance, the National Library of Medicine is helping local librarians to be more effective local navigators by regularly hosting webinars and training sessions for local librarians on how to navigate social services, aging, mental health, welfare and public assistance, housing resources, health care, and education and employment resources.

A reason public libraries are seen as such important third-place institutions is that they and their librarians have gradually taken on other functions well beyond lending out books.

Of course, most librarians were not trained to handle many of the issues and requests they now encounter, such as providing guidance on resources for substance abuse and mental health issues. In response, some libraries have hired in-house social workers to help address the needs of visitors. San Francisco Public Library, where an estimated 15 percent of the library’s visitors are homeless, was one of the first . A case worker is able to do a full assessment, and help arrange case management and housing assistance, in a respectful and neutral safe space.

Addressing Population Health

Other cities have followed suit. A recent study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania explains how Philadelphia’s libraries, as a trusted local institution, have partnered with the University to address population health and social determinants of health. With librarians now trained as “community health specialists,” the libraries offer programs and assistance for people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. In 2015, almost 10 percent of the libraries’ 5.8 million in-person visitors accessed specialized programs and assistance in such areas as nutrition, trauma and mental health resources, youth leadership and healthy behaviors. As the researchers conclude, “Libraries and librarians contribute two particular strengths to advance a culture of health: accessibility and trustworthiness.”

Related Books

Gerard Caprio, Jonathan L. Fiechter, Robert E. Litan, Michael Pomerleano

January 7, 2005

C. Eugene Steuerle, Van Doorn Ooms, George E. Peterson, Robert D. Reischauer

June 1, 2000

Nicolas P. Retsinas, Eric S. Belsky

August 13, 2002

Many libraries have become front-line institutions in addressing the needs of the homeless. For instance, the Dallas Public Library in 2013 launched a Homeless Engagement Initiative . The emphasis is on making all library visitors feel welcome. The library runs a Homeless Engagement and Leadership Program (HELP) Desk where customers can obtain one-on-one assistance with job applications and resumes, food and housing referrals, legal aid, and library music and arts programs.

Libraries focus on a wide range of populations with particular needs, including seniors, veterans, and immigrants. The Hartford Public Library in Connecticut, for instance, has created The American Place (TAP), a free program that supports and assists new immigrants acclimate to their new city. TAP partners with community leaders and organizations to provide employment services, English as a new language classes, legal orientation programs, Know-Your-Rights forums, and referrals to other services, in five different languages. Meanwhile the Queens Borough Public Library in New York, has partnered with the Queens Health Network, the largest healthcare provider in the area, to design health-related and community-centered programming targeting the needs of its immigrant populations.

Libraries as Key Hubs

In health care and other areas, libraries are combining the access and trust characteristics of a third place with a hub role in the community – using partnerships with other institutions to connect people with services and help. There are plenty of challenges with this role. Community needs and the requests of visitors are increasingly straining or overwhelming library funds; and although many libraries are retraining staff, achieving the appropriate mix of skills is difficult. But as the University of Pennsylvania study found, “public libraries are dynamic, socially responsive institutions, a nexus of diversity, and a lifeline for the most vulnerable among us.” More policymakers and government officials need to recognize this, and incorporate libraries into budgets and plans to build a culture of health and upwardly mobile communities.

Economic Studies

Isabel V. Sawhill, Kai Smith

September 27, 2024

Philomena Kebec, Vanda Felbab-Brown

September 24, 2024

Megan Kuhfeld, Karyn Lewis

September 20, 2024

Transforming the public sphere: the case of Moscow’s city libraries

• September 2018
• Cultural Studies 32(5):772-799

• Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

• Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design, Moscow

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From moscow to the fifth dimension: memoir of a slow learner.

• Michael Cole 1
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; email: [email protected]
• Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-010923-114231
• © Copyright © 2024 by the author(s). All rights reserved

This essay contains an account of my professional life from its beginnings as a third-generation, Skinnerian, mathematical learning theorist to its current state as an interdisciplinary developmentalist. Following completion of my PhD at Indiana University, I spent the academic year at Moscow State University where I worked under the direction of Alexander Luria, whose ideas led to my lifelong interest in cultural-historical approaches to human development. For more than a decade, I conducted cross-cultural research on the role of formal schooling in the cognitive development of children growing up in a variety of sociocultural conditions. Since the late 1970s, my research has focused on the design of educational activities involving partnerships between institutions of higher learning and their communities. A constant concern throughout this work has been the inappropriate use of psychological methods when comparing people from different culture backgrounds and a search for the means required to remediate the resulting difficulties.

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Genealogy Resources

Researching genealogy at kckpl.

The Kansas Room offers print genealogy resources located in the Main Library. We also have included additional resources and databases below that may be helpful when researching genealogy.

We offer genealogy drop-in sessions, where you can receive one-on-one assistance from our Kansas Collection Librarian in your genealogy research. Drop-in sessions are every Tuesday morning from 10:00 to 12:00 pm. No appointment is needed. You can also contact the Kansas Collection Librarian for help over the phone or email to set up an appointment for one-on-one genealogy research assistance outside of those hours.

Email [email protected] to Make Appointment

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Online Genealogy Resources

African american newspapers.

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998, provides online access to more than 350 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African-American experience.

America's Newspapers

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Ancestry Library Edition

Search through billions of records for family history in the census, military, immigration and more. In-house access only--come to a library building to access Ancestry.  

Provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.

Gale Genealogy Connect

How-to of genealogy research for beginners or an experienced researcher looking for in-depth genealogy data.

HeritageQuest Online

Comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps, and more.

Historical Kansas City Star - Archives (1880-2002)

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Historical Kansas City Times - Archives (1872-1990)

Explore a custom collection of news articles of the Historical Kansas City Times dating from 1872-1990.

Kansas and Missouri Local Newspapers

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Kansas City Star Historical and Current

Access to the online current and historical version of the Kansas City Star newspaper.

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library's Yearbook Project

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Kansas Digital Newspapers

The Kansas Digital Newspapers (KDN) program seeks to digitize and make available on the Internet digital editions of historic Kansas newspapers.

Additional Online Resources

The following are online resources that can help with genealogy research.

Cyndi's List : Cyndi's List is a genealogy research site. In place for 20 years, Cyndi's List is free for everyone to use and serves as a starting point when researching genealogy online.

Ethnic Heritage Research : Research on Ethnic Heritage ties in with the National Archives. The site provides highlights from its collection along with a link to Immigration Records.

FamilySearch : FamilySearch is a nonprofit family history organization dedicated to connecting families across generations.

National Archives & Records Administration - Genealogy Resources : This is a link to NARA's resources for genealogists and family historians.

North American Genealogy Resources : This site provides genealogy related information for various States and Provinces.

Soundex Coding System : The Soundex system is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census. Soundex can also aid genealogists by identifying spelling variations for a given surname.

U.S. Census Genealogy : Information tied back to older census data for research purposes.

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Speaker 1: Hi there, in this video we're going to be talking about how to conduct research using the library databases, so let's get right to it. All universities have some kind of access to library databases, and normally you can find the library link from the main website for your university. For West Coast University students, you're going to click on Academics, and then University Library. Once we're on the library site, there are tons of different links and tools that you can explore, but the primary one that's going to be useful for our database search is the A to Z database list. Once we're in here, we have a couple of options. We can search by database, or we can search by platform. Platforms simply host different databases. I personally like to search by database. So if we scroll down here, we see alphabetically, A to Z, all of the databases that the university subscribes to, and then underneath each link is a short description of what types of journals are housed in that database. So you may have ones that are particular to specific fields, and you may have ones that are multidisciplinary. So for instance, this first one called Academic Search Complete says, Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly multidisciplinary full text database. So as you can see, this is one of the multidisciplinary ones. So I always like to begin with Academic Search Complete, and most universities tend to have access to this particular database, because no matter what you're looking for, you're probably going to find something there. So let's go ahead and click that one open. Now at this point, you'll be required to enter your ID information. If you do not know your library ID and password, you should have received it via email from the library when you enrolled. If you cannot find that email, then you can simply contact the librarian who can help you with that information. Once you've entered your info, you're ready to begin your search. However, there are a few things that we should do before we actually start. So if we look up here, we can see that right now this is searching the database that I clicked on, Academic Search Complete. However, we can click here on Choose Databases, and we'll be presented with the same list that we saw previously. So right now it's just looking in Academic Search Complete, but I can go ahead and add all of the other databases that I think might be useful for my topic. The descriptions are still available. If you hover over these little comment bubbles here, you have all of the information you need. You can start reading through them and deciding which ones might be useful. Let's pretend just for the sake of the search that all of these here are going to be good sources for us. That'll do. Let's say that these are the ones we're most likely to get good information from for our topic. We hit OK, and now it takes you to this general search, which is not where you want to be. No basic searches for us. Let's go back to our advanced search. Here we are again, but this time you can see that it's searching Academic Search Complete, and if you click Show All, it's now searching all of the other databases that you clicked on as well. If we scroll down a little bit, we'll find that we can limit our search to make sure that we only get full text. In other words, it's only going to show you articles that you actually have access to, not articles where you only can access the abstract. And then we definitely want to check on peer review. So this ensures that the only articles we get when we search are our scholarly academic peer reviewed articles. You can also here limit the time period if you want to make sure that your articles are more recent, for example. But let's leave it like that for now, and let's start playing with our search. Unlike Google, you're not going to ask a question. You're going to play with your search terms and start kind of using some trial and error. Let's say that we're writing a paper that has to do with obesity. If I were to type the word obesity here, notice that I get multiple options. Obviously, I could just search the word obesity, but look here at these options, obesity or overweight or fat or obese or unhealthy weight or high BMI. So what's going on here? Basically, these are all synonyms of the word obesity. And so the reason you might want to choose that option is because you otherwise might be missing out on articles that are using the term overweight instead of obesity. And those may also have been useful articles for you. So let's go ahead and click search, see what happens. So if we look here, we've got 238,000 or so articles. That's a lot. We probably want to narrow down the search a little bit. So you have these ends, which means that if I add something else here, when I search, it's only going to give me articles that say both one of these plus the new thing that I've added. So let's say for instance, that my paper is going to focus on childhood obesity. So let me type child. We get more options, children or adolescents or youth or child or teenager. We also get down here, children or kids or youth or child. I think I'd prefer this one because perhaps my paper focuses just on young children, not necessarily adolescents. So let's try that one and click search. Okay, so now we have 42,000 articles that went down significantly. It's probably still a bit too much. Let's try to add something else. Perhaps I am exploring the epidemic of childhood obesity in the US. So I might want to type United States. Now of course it could be United States or America or USA or US. So let's try that one. Okay, now we're down to 9,388. That's good. Still a bit too many. We can always add more ends by just clicking the plus. In this case, let's just go with what we have for now. But by the way, if you scroll down here, you can still limit your publication date. So let's say that I've decided that I want no articles older than 2015. Move that over and now I'm down to 3,500 or so. Now one other way that you could limit your search further is to play with these. So select a field. Right now there's nothing selected, which means that any article that says any of these words plus any of these words and any of these words anywhere in the article is going to show up. However, if I switch this to title, that means that one of these words has to show up in the title of the article in order for it to appear, meaning that the issue of obesity is going to be one of the main topics of the article since it's in the title. So let's hit search. Now we've got 1,200. But if we wanted to say children or kids or youth or child also in the title, try that 452. So that's getting significantly better, right? We can also try putting this one in the title, but let's leave it at this for now. Now we can start exploring our articles. We start by just reading the titles because the title itself will give you an idea of whether or not this might be a useful source for your paper. So if the title looks promising, then what do we do? Let's say for instance that this one, physical activity, sedentary behavior, fruit and vegetable consumption and access. What influences obesity in rural children? That one sounds interesting to me, might be good for my paper. So I'm going to go ahead and open the PDF. So you have multiple links. Sometimes you have an HTML as well. Whenever it has a PDF, which it normally does, that's the best to open because it's going to look exactly the way that it looks within the journal. I like to right click and open it in a new tab just so that I can keep coming back to this as I continue my search. So here we are with our article. If you scroll down, you've got the abstract. This is the only thing you're reading for right now because when you read the abstract, that will tell you whether or not this truly is a useful source. If that's the case, you don't have to jump into reading the whole article right now. You can just kind of set it aside, come back here and continue your search. So let's say that you've decided this is one of the articles you want for your paper. What do you do? The best thing you can do so that you don't lose it and have to refind it is to email yourself the PDF of this article. And how do you do that? On the right hand side here, this little envelope icon is email. So we're going to click there and then you simply type whatever email address you'd like to have it sent to here. Type a subject heading, make sure that the PDF is checked off. And then when you send yourself that, you will get the PDF that you can download and then save somewhere on your computer. Now before doing that, here's another tip. You want to click on citation format and then in the dropdown, choose whichever documentation style is required for your paper. So let's say it's APA, going to click on APA and then you're going to hit send. So now you're going to get the PDF that you can download. And in addition to that, in the text of your email, you're going to get the APA reference for this article that you can basically copy and paste into your references page. So as you've probably gathered, the research process takes time. You're going to be sifting through tons of articles from Google, Google Scholar, and from your library databases. So make sure to give yourself that time. If you begin the research process when it's already time to start writing your paper, it's going to be very stressful for you and probably unsuccessful. Whereas if you start the research process much earlier, then you are not yet stressed at all about the actual writing of the paper. And you can focus on just exploring information. Actually the part of the writing process that should normally take the longest is the research component. So it should feel like getting lost on YouTube, clicking on one cute puppy video after another. So you find one interesting article and that sparks your curiosity, gives you an idea for another search term you might use to try to find new information. That is what it should feel like and it won't be able to happen properly if you don't have enough time for that process. So as they say, not all those who wander are lost. So please go wander. Learn something new. It's good for you. Learn something new. It's good for you.

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• 2022 OSTP Public Access Policy Memo

Your Scholarly Communications Team

Your research data management team, welcome to the uva library's guide to the 2022 ostp public access memo.

Welcome to UVA Library’s Guide about the 2022 OSTP Public Access Memo! This guide describes the recent OSTP Memo, how it will impact researchers at UVA, and how you can find help meeting the new requirements.

Questions?  Reach out to the Scholarly Communication Services team at  [email protected]  ( for general questions ) or Research Data Service at  [email protected]  ( for Research Data questions ) . 

What is the OSTP Public Access Memo?

About the ostp public access memo.

The OSTP Public Access Memo (also known as the Nelson Memo, but formally entitled Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research) was released in August 2022 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) under the direction of Dr. Alondra Nelson. The memo guides all federal agencies to develop plans indicating how they will provide public access to the results of federally funded research. This memo is a successor to the 2013 OSTP memo  Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research  (also known as the Holdren Memo).

The 2022 Public Access Memo provides policy guidance to federal agencies on ensuring availability of federally funded research materials, including data and research results, to the public, free of charge and without an embargo period. The Nelson Memo applies to ALL federal agencies (regardless of research budget or field of study), it includes both peer reviewed publications and their underlying data, and the ultimate goal is to provide free, immediate access to research.

Key aspects of the new federal policy

• It covers all federal agencies and departments , an expansion from the 20 agencies covered under the 2013 policy .
• It calls for data underlying all published research conclusions  to be made immediately available.
• It extends the previous policy’s original scope  beyond research articles to include peer-reviewed book chapters, editorials, and conference proceedings.
• It calls for research publications to be machine-readable  so they are more useful to researchers and the public through text and data mining, computational analysis, and other technologies, as well as through assistive technology.
• It calls for the use of persistent identifiers  that make it easier to find and connect research outputs, increasing the discoverability and impact of research.

From: VIVA:  https://vivalib.org/va/external/VRL/OSTP

What are the Key Dates?

• August 25, 2022 - The OSTP Public Access Memo is released.
• December 31, 2024 - The date by which agencies should publish their new or updated public access policies.
• December 31, 2025 - The date by which agencies' public access policies will be in effect.
• December 31, 2026 - The date for agencies to publish full implementation plans for public access policies regarding metadata collection and assignment of personal identifiers.
• December 31, 2027 - The date that all agency public access policies for metadata collection and assignment of PIDs must be in effect.

For more details see the Timeline section .

What are the Crucial Impacts?

Top three impacts crucial for you to know: .

• The policies will apply to both “scholarly publications” and the underlying “scientific data .” “Scholarly publications” for this purpose include works that have been peer-reviewed, such as journal articles or manuscripts, book chapters, and conference proceedings, published as a result of the funded research. “Scientific Data” refers to the underlying factual material that will allow others to replicate and validate research findings as reported in scholarly publications.
• Federal funders will NOT require researchers to pay to publish their work openly in a journal - from the FAQs : "adherence to and implementation of the [memo] does not require expense on the part of the researcher. Impact on publishing costs is a possible, but not necessary outcome... the requirement can be achieved by use of agency-designated repositories with the final peer-reviewed manuscript." NIH's PubMed and the NSF/DOE PAR (Public Access Repository) are two examples of suitable repositories.
• All federal agencies must complete and share their plans by December 31, 2024, and take effect no later than December 31, 2025. But note, some agencies might put the requirements in place before December 31, 2025 . A list of Public Access Plans published by federal agencies is available on the Public Access Plans & Guidance webpage.

Adapted from  https://lib.asu.edu/news/research/3-takeaways-2022-white-house-office-science-and-technology-policy

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• Library Services in the Digital Age
• Part 1: The role of libraries in people’s lives and communities

Table of Contents

• Part 2: What people do at libraries and library websites
• Part 3: Technology use at libraries
• Part 4: What people want from their libraries
• Part 5: The present and future of libraries
• Methodology

The starting point of this research was to understand how people currently use their libraries. In the past 12 months, 53% of Americans ages 16 and older visited a library or bookmobile; 25% visited a library website; and 13% used a handheld device such as a smartphone or tablet computer to access a library website. All told, 59% of Americans ages 16 and older had at least one of those kinds of interactions with their public library in the past 12 months.

In our survey, we asked people about their general library patronage—if they had experiences with libraries in childhood, how often they visit libraries or library websites, and what sort of experiences they have had in these visits. We also asked people how important libraries are, not only to them and their family, but also to their community as a whole.

Family members’ library use from childhood

Most Americans have longstanding connections to local libraries, but a fifth have no memory of family members using the library. Some 77% say they remember someone else in their family using public libraries as they were growing up; one in five (20%) say that no one in their family used the library.

Women are more likely than men to say they remember a family member using the library when they were growing up, and respondents with higher levels of education and living in households with higher income levels are significantly more likely to say this as well. Hispanics are significantly less likely than whites or blacks to say that a family member used the library, and adults ages 65 and older are somewhat less likely than younger Americans to say this. Additionally, people living in urban or suburban areas are more likely to report that a family member used the library when they were growing up than those living in rural areas.

Americans’ library use

Overall, 84% of Americans ages 16 and older have visited a library or bookmobile in person. Women are more likely than men to have done so (86% vs. 81%), and whites (86%) are more likely than blacks (80%) or Hispanics (71%). Those with at least some college experience are more likely to have visited a library or bookmobile than those with lower levels of education. Younger age groups (especially those under 50) and those with higher levels of household income are generally more likely to have done so as well.

About 64% of those who had ever visited a public library say they had visited a public library or bookmobile in person in the past twelve months. This means that 53% of all Americans ages 16 and older visited a public library or bookmobile in person in the past year.

Women are more likely than men to have visited a library or bookmobile in the past year (59% vs. 48%), and those under the age of 65 are more likely than older adults to have done so as well. Americans who have at least some college experience are also significantly more likely than those who have not attended college to have visited a library in the past year.

Finally, those who remember a family member using the library while they were growing up are not only significantly more likely than those with no family experiences to have ever visited a library in person (90% vs. 64%), but are also more likely to have visited a library in the past year (59% vs. 34%).

Among those who have visited a public library in person in the past year:

• 3% say they go every day or almost every day
• 12% say they go at least once a week
• 19% go several times a month
• 28% go about once a month
• 38% go less often than that

Although many activities at libraries do not always require a library card, many others—such as borrowing books—do. Currently, 63% of Americans ages 16 and older have a library card, up from 58% in December 2011.

Experiences at libraries are positive

Among those who had ever used a public library, almost all respondents say that their experiences using public libraries are either very positive (57%) or mostly positive (41%); only about 1% say their experiences had been mostly negative.

Women, blacks, and adults ages 30 and older are significantly more likely than other groups to report “very positive” experiences at public libraries, as are Americans with at least a high school education. Respondents ages 16-17 are the least likely to report “very positive” experiences, with a majority (62%) reporting “mostly positive” experiences.

How important libraries are to individuals and their communities

In our December 2011 survey, we asked people how important libraries are to them and their families. For this survey, we asked respondents two questions: How important libraries are to them and their families, and also how important libraries are to their communities as a whole.

How important are libraries to you and your family?

Overall, a majority of Americans (76% of all respondents) say that libraries are important to them and their families, and 46% say that libraries are “very important”—up from 38% saying libraries are “very important” in December 2011. 1  Women (51%) are more likely than men (40%) to say that libraries are “very important” to them and their families, and blacks (60%) and Hispanics (55%) are more likely to say this than whites (41%).

In addition, adults ages 30 and older (50%) are also more likely than adults ages 18-29 (38%) to say that libraries are “very important” to them and their families. Just 18% of 16-17 year-olds say this, though they are among the heaviest users of libraries. Those ages 16-17 are more likely to say that libraries are “somewhat important” (47%) or “not too important” (21%) to them and their families. Additionally, 52% of those in households making less than $30,000 per year say that libraries are “very important” to them and their families, with 82% saying that libraries are important overall—making those in this income bracket significantly more likely to say so than those in households making more than $50,000 per year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who have used the library in the past twelve months are more likely to say libraries are important than those who have not. At least half (55%) of those who had used a library in the past year say that the library is “very important” to them and their families, compared with about a third (33%) of those who had not used a library in that time.

Similarly, those who are more familiar with the resources and programs at their local public library are more likely to say that libraries are important. Some 86% of those who say they know about “all or most” of the services their library offers say that libraries are important to them and their family overall, including the 60% who say libraries are “very important.” Among those who say they know “not much” or “none at all” of the services their libraries offers, 61% say the library is important to them and their families, and just 32% say it is “very important.”

Libraries’ importance to the community as a whole

When asked about the importance of public libraries to their community, at least nine in ten respondents (91%) say they considered the library either “very important” (63%) or “somewhat important” (28%) to their community as a whole.

While a strong majority of all groups considered libraries important to their communities, some demographic groups stand out in their assessments. Once again, women (69%) are more likely than men (57%) to say that the library was “very important” to their community, and blacks (74%) and Hispanics (67%) are more likely than whites (60%) to say this as well. Adults ages 30 and older are also more likely to consider the library “very important” to their community than younger respondents, and those living in households in the lowest income bracket are more likely to consider libraries “very important” to their community than those in households making at least $75,000 per year.

Even among those who had not used the library in the past year, at least half (53%) say they consider public libraries “very important” to their community as a whole, with 85% considering libraries important to their community overall. By comparison, 70% of those who had used the library in the past year consider libraries “very important” to their community, and 94% consider them important to their community overall.

Meanwhile, about three-quarters (74%) of those who are very familiar with their library’s services consider libraries “very important” to their community, compared with 49% of those who are generally unfamiliar with their library’s services; 94% of those very familiar with their library’s services say libraries are important to their community overall, as do 84% of those who know little to nothing about their library’s offerings.

[miss our public library]

Even the focus group participants who didn’t use their local libraries much said that they would miss them if they were gone. One said that she wanted to live in the sort of community that had a library, even though she personally had not used it yet. Another said that while the loss of her local library would probably not affect her personally, “I look at myself as a member of a community and so it would deeply affect my community”—and therefore have an impact on her as well. Another said: “I prefer to have libraries open to communities where people could not afford what I can afford.”

• In February 2012, question was a standalone question. ↩

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