December 18, 2012 Request for Public Library Staff to Respond to Pew Research Center Questionnaire by Sunday December 23 The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is in the midst of a multi-year study (http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2011/10/17/press-release/) exploring the changing role of libraries in the digital age, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our major report on “Libraries, Patrons, and E-books (http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22/libraries-patrons-and-e-books/)” was enriched by many fascinating insights from the online panels that so many librarians participated in. (That report and many others are available online at a special section of our website at libraries.pewinternet.org (http://libraries.pewinternet.org).) We are now in the midst of the next phase of our research, and we need your help! Our current phase of research explores the experiences and expectations of library users—how they use their libraries, what services they utilize the most, and what resources they wish their libraries offered. We’ve already completed a nationally representative phone survey of Americans 16 and older about their library habits, but we are also fielding a purely qualitative online questionnaire targeted at library staff members in order to provide more context about how libraries make decisions about services and programming. This questionnaire is for any and all staff members at public libraries. It briefly discusses various types of services and resources, and invites you to share your thoughts about the current (and future) state of libraries. The questionnaire is available at: http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/library-services To log in, please use your preferred email address as your username; the password is PEWLIBS. Depending on the length of your answers, the survey should take about 10-20 minutes to complete; please feel free to skip any questions that you do not feel able to answer. The questionnaire will be available until Sunday, December 23rd. All responses will be confidential, although your answers may be quoted anonymously in a series of reports in early 2013. If you have any questions, please contact Kathryn Zickuhr at mailto:kzickuhr@pewinternet.org. We know that this is a busy time of year, and would greatly appreciate your time and assistance. Thank you! Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project Staff The Pew Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does so by conducting public opinion polling and social science research; by reporting news and analyzing news coverage; and by holding forums and briefings. It does not take positions on policy issues.