Buildings, books, and bytes Libraries and communities in the digital age

Published by Benton Foundation
Funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation



Preface

F
unded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and prepared by the Benton Foundation, this study was prompted by the Kellogg Foundation's desire to inform its Human Resources for Information Systems Management (HRISM) grantees about where the public supports -- or fails to support -- libraries as they confront the digital world. With more Americans turning to home computers and the Internet for information, the Kellogg Foundation wanted to help its grantees develop a public message about American libraries that reflected both the library leaders' visions and the American people's expectations. The grantees spanned the library and information science world -- library schools, large public library systems, university libraries, the Library of Congress, the American Library Association, the Council on Library Resources, Libraries for the Future, the Urban Libraries Council, community networks, video producers, and other key information providers.

Informing the study were the grantees' visions of the future, as embodied in written vision statements and telephone interviews; the public's view of public libraries; and the public policy agenda currently under discussion, especially as reflected in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Grantees were asked to submit examples of how they were presenting their vision of the future of libraries in print and in public statements. The ways that grantees presented these visions publicly were distilled and later discussed with them in private telephone interviews. Augmenting the public visions and private concerns of library leaders were public opinion surveys -- including one conducted in April 1996 by Lake Research and the Tarrance Group for this report -- and a single focus group of sophisticated library users observed by library leaders. The results were discussed at a conference of grantees in May 1996 in Washington DC. The conference concluded with sessions to chart a strategy for the future.
The Benton Foundation had several key collaborators in the design and management of the Conference in May 1996 and in the preparation of this study: Leigh Estabrook, Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois; Lake Research, a Washington DC public opinion firm; and the Tarrance Group, a survey research firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. Additional survey data were obtained from the Roper Center at the University of Connecticut.
At the Benton Foundation, Senior Program Associate Laura Weiss wrote this report. Program Officer Susan Bales and Laura Weiss supervised the research and sessions that contributed to the report. Executive Director Larry Kirkman provided project oversight. Program Officer Andrew Blau wrote the section on public policy.
The Benton Foundation wishes to acknowledge the many contributions of Tom Reis, Director of Marketing and Dissemination for the Kellogg Foundation, whose guidance was invaluable in the design of this project.

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