Do circulation policies vary widely throughout the country? How do the policies of other metropolitan libraries in the U.S. compare with those of Colorado? To find out, in June 1996, we surveyed two dozen metropolitan public libraries nationwide, 10 of which are Colorado public libraries. These libraries reported their circulation policies for different formats, and […]
Challenges to Displays This year, the single most common reason for a challenge was “homosexuality.” This accounted for almost two-thirds of all complaints. The next most common objection was “unsuited to age group.” Both objections challenged displays in Colorado. The challenges in Colorado public libraries in 1995 included 3 displays; one by P-FLAG at Mesa […]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Whoever said it, it could not have been truer of Colorado’s school library media centers (LMCs) in 1996. The 1995-96 school year was another year of dramatic changes associated with the information superhighway, but it was also the second year in a row […]
At the request of one of Colorado’s public libraries, the Library Research Service conducted a survey to determine prevailing salaries and related data for public information officers (PIOs) in public libraries. The survey was sent to all Colorado public libraries with budgets of $675,000 and over and to public libraries nationwide serving 75,000-99,999. Sixteen responses […]
If you are a professional librarian or a library assistant, you probably feel like your job is a combination of several other types of jobs, most of which are a lot better paid. Perhaps you are right. Consider the following data excerpted from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s February 1996 publication: Occupational Wages […]
With over half of their outlets in non-metropolitan areas, public libraries are well-situated to be on-ramps to the Information Superhighway for residents of outlying and rural areas. Public libraries can serve as on-ramps to the Information Superhighway—access points to electronically networked information for those who cannot afford—or otherwise easily obtain—a computer with a modem and […]
In Colorado, public library cards are as prevalent as Visa credit cards. In 1996, Americans had over 200 million Visa credit cards. If Coloradans held a proportional share of those cards, there were an estimated 2.8 million Visa cards in the Centennial state. In 1995, Coloradans had 2.5 million library cards. If registration of new […]
How well are academic librarians paid in Colorado? The answer to that question depends on the particular higher education institution and the type of librarian position. At many institutions, librarians in many positions are paid well above average compared to regional and national norms, but others are not so well paid, and Colorado’s highest salaries […]
Of Colorado’s 18 larger public libraries in metropolitan areas, 15 (83 percent) are making available federal and state tax forms this year. As more libraries develop home pages on the World Wide Web, this service is likely to become less common. In recent years, many public libraries have discontinued this service, owing to the extraordinary […]
At the request of one of Colorado’s 12 public libraries in resort communities, this group of libraries was surveyed regarding the range of services they provide and the types and amounts of fees or other charges they assess for services. The results of this survey indicate that free public library service is alive and well […]
