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Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background Public libraries offer a variety of services to their
communities, including collections, reference and referral, and
programming. Depending on the type of community in which a library
is located, the library may emphasize programs and other types
of services for particular segments of the population (e.g.,
children, senior citizens, or those with limited English skills), or
it may emphasize particular types of services (e.g., collections of
various types or extensive reference assistance). This report
provides nationally representative data on programs for adults in
public library outlets. It is based on a survey conducted in fall
2000 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),
U.S. Department of Education, using its Fast Response Survey System
(FRSS). The survey— which defined “programs” as planned activities
for groups or individuals that are offered by libraries to provide
information, instruction, or cultural
enrichment—obtained information on three areas of interest for adult
programming in public library outlets:
- adult literacy programs, including adult basic literacy skills, pre-GED, GED, family literacy, and English as a second language instruction for adults;
-
programs for adult lifelong learning, such as book or film discussions, cultural
performances, recreational activities, employment and career guidance, college/continuing
education guidance, financial planning/ investment information, parenting skills,
citizenship preparation, and computer/Internet instruction; and
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provision of Internet access for adult independent use.
These activities form part of the numerous services that libraries may provide their users, and the degree of emphasis that individual libraries place on these activities may be related to the role
that an individual library plays in its community.
This report provides information about programs for adults that are offered by public library outlets. As defined in the FRSS survey, a public library
outlet is a unit (usually a building) that provides direct public library service. An outlet may be a main or central library, a branch library, or a
bookmobile. An outlet was considered to offer a program if the outlet provided funding, materials, or staff to support the program or if the library
system ran the program within or on behalf of the library outlet. Programs that used library space rented from the library or made available to
outside groups by the library, but with no other involvement of the library outlet or system, were not considered offerings of the library outlet.
Results are presented for public library outlets overall, and by outlet size (small, medium, and large, as measured by the number of persons who entered the library outlet in a typical week,
referred to in this report as the number of library visits per week) and metropolitan status (urban, suburban, and rural).
Key Findings
Adult Literacy Programs
Public libraries are one source of adult literacy
programming within communities. Literacy
programming includes direct literacy instruction,
as well as activities such as providing funding,
materials, and staff to support the program of
another literacy provider. The fall 2000 FRSS
survey asked public library outlets about their
adult literacy program offerings during the
previous 12 months. Findings from the survey
include the following:
- Adult literacy programs, including adult basic
literacy skills, pre-GED, GED, family literacy,
and English as a second language, were offered by 17 percent of public library outlets
(figure 2).
-
The likelihood of offering adult literacy
programs was related to outlet size, with 5
percent of small outlets, 19 percent of
medium-sized outlets, and 31 percent of large
outlets offering adult literacy programs (figure
2). Urban outlets offered literacy programs
more often than outlets in rural areas (26
percent compared with 15 percent).
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Programs in adult basic literacy skills (defined
as skills at the fourth-grade level and below)
were offered by 63 percent of outlets that
offered adult literacy programs (Table
3). Pre- GED (defined as skills from the fifth- through
the eighth-grade levels), GED (defined as
skills from the ninth-grade level through high
school equivalency), English as a second
language, and family literacy programs were
offered by 42 to 48 percent of outlets that
offered adult literacy programs.
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About half of the outlets offering adult literacy
programs offered such programs specifically
for adults who were limited English speaking
and/or recent immigrants (50 percent) or for
parents (48 percent) (Table
4). Adult literacy
programs specifically for high school dropouts
were offered by 40 percent of outlets offering
adult literacy programs. About a quarter (26
percent) of outlets with adult literacy
programs offered programs specifically for
adults with learning disabilities, and 11
percent offered programs specifically for
adults with hearing impairments.
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Outlets that did not offer adult literacy
programs during the 12 months prior to the
survey were asked to indicate how important
various reasons were in the outlet’s decision
not to offer such programs. Not having the
staff or resources to offer adult literacy
programs was indicated as very important in
the outlet’s decision by 77 percent of outlets
(Table
5). About half of the outlets (53
percent) indicated that the presence of other
groups or educational institutions in the
community (including other library outlets)
that offer adult literacy programs was very important in their decision not to offer such
programs. An emphasis on other groups (e.g.,
children, senior citizens) in the outlet’s
programming was indicated as very important
by 37 percent of outlets. The reason least
often indicated as very important in the
outlet’s decision not to offer adult literacy
programs was that the community served by
the outlet does not have a strong need for adult
literacy programs (20 percent); almost half of
the outlets (48 percent) indicated that this
reason was not important in their decision.
Lifelong Learning Programs
Lifelong learning services for adults encompass
many kinds of activities and programs to meet the
cultural, recreational, and educational needs of the
adults served by library outlets. The fall 2000
FRSS survey asked public library outlets whether
they offered nine types of adult lifelong learning
programs during the 12 months prior to the survey,
whether any lifelong learning programs were
offered specifically for 5 listed groups of adults,
and to what extent various factors were barriers to
providing lifelong learning programs for adults
with learning and/or physical disabilities. Results
of the survey include the following:
- Computer/Internet instruction, offered by 56
percent of all public library outlets, was the
most frequently offered type of adult lifelong
learning program (Table
7). Forty-three
percent of outlets offered book/film discussions
or presentations, 41 percent offered
cultural performances, and 39 percent offered
recreational activities, such as crafts, travel, or
hobbies. Programs on parenting skills were
offered by 20 percent of outlets, financial
planning/investment information programs by
18 percent of outlets, employment/career
guidance programs by 17 percent of outlets,
and college/continuing education guidance
programs by 15 percent of outlets. Programs
for citizenship preparation were offered by 5
percent of outlets.
- Large and medium-sized outlets were more
likely than small outlets to offer all the types of adult lifelong learning programs except
citizenship preparation programs, which did
not vary significantly by outlet size (Table
7).
Large outlets were also more likely than
medium-sized outlets to offer most of the
programs, with the exception of programs on
employment/career guidance and college/
continuing education guidance. Urban outlets
were more likely than rural outlets to offer all
the types of lifelong learning programs except
citizenship preparation and college/continuing
education guidance programs.
- About a quarter of all outlets offered adult
lifelong learning programs specifically for
senior citizens or for parents (24 percent for
each) (Table
8). Programs specifically for
adults who are limited English speaking
and/or recent immigrants were offered by 9
percent of outlets, for adults with physical
disabilities by 6 percent of outlets, and for
adults with learning disabilities by 5 percent of
outlets.
- All library outlets were asked to what extent
certain factors were barriers to the outlet’s
offering lifelong learning programs for adults
with learning and/or physical disabilities.
Insufficient accessibility to library facilities
for the disabled was not perceived to be a
barrier to offering such programs by most
libraries, with 70 percent of outlets indicating
it was not a barrier (Table
9). Insufficient
accessibility was perceived to be a major
barrier by 12 percent of outlets. The
remaining factors (lack of staff training in
working with adults with disabilities, lack of assistive/adaptive devices for adults with
disabilities, and insufficient library materials
for the blind or physically disabled) were rated
as not a barrier by 17 to 24 percent of outlets
and as a major barrier by 33 to 39 percent of
outlets.
Internet Access
The Internet is a major tool for communication
and for education and job-related tasks. Public
libraries are one of the providers of Internet access
to the public. The fall 2000 FRSS survey asked
public library outlets whether they provided
Internet access to adults for their independent use,
and to what extent various factors were barriers to
providing such access. Findings include the
following:
- Most public library outlets (92 percent)
reported providing Internet access to adults for
their independent use (figure 3). Small outlets
were less likely to provide Internet access than
were medium-sized or large outlets (84
percent compared with 96 and 98 percent,
respectively). No differences were observed
by metropolitan status.
- All library outlets were asked to what extent
various factors (insufficient space for
computers, insufficient number of computers
with Internet access, insufficient number of
telecommunications lines for Internet access,
lack of library staff to assist Internet users, and
lack of specialized training among library
staff) were barriers to providing Internet
access to adults for their independent use.
Across all public library outlets, these factors
were generally not perceived as being major
barriers to providing Internet access; the
percentage of outlets rating each factor as a
major barrier ranged from 9 percent for lack of
specialized training among library staff to 29
percent for insufficient space for computers
(Table
11).
- There were differences in perceived barriers
between the library outlets that provided
Internet access and those that did not. All of
the factors were more likely to be identified as
major barriers by outlets that did not provide
Internet access than by outlets that did provide
Internet access (Table
11).
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