Thursday, July 17, 2008

Study examines support for library funding

Targeting marketing messages to the right segments of the voting public is key to driving increased support for U.S. public libraries. This is one of the conclusions of From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America, a new report from the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC).

The study was funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore attitudes and perceptions about library funding and to evaluate the potential of a large-scale marketing and advocacy campaign to increase public library funding in the United States. Among the report's findings are the following:

1. Library funding support is only marginally related to library visitation.
2. Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of library funding support.
3. Voters who see the library as a "transformational" force as opposed to an "informational" source are more likely to increase taxes in its support.

For further information or to download the report, visit the OCLC website.

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