News/impacts

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with Reinvestment Fund, recently released “Understanding the Social Wellbeing Impacts of the Nation’s Libraries and Museums,” a report on the ways that libraries and museums promote social inclusion and well-being. The study, conducted between 2018 and 2020, looked at measures that included community health, school effectiveness, institutional connection, and cultural opportunity.

2020 LIS graduates faced a dip in salaries, an increase in remote work, and a drop in satisfaction, but not a major rise in unemployment.

Library Journal ’s survey on The State of Academic Libraries, fielded by LJ and ProQuest in May through July, sought to examine how college and university libraries worldwide have fared during this time of rapid adjustment—particularly during the 2020–21 academic year, when the pandemic dramatically accelerated changes across the board.

The 2020 Public Library Technology Survey presents a snapshot of the vital technology services that libraries provide their communities, areas of disparity between urban and rural libraries, and the challenges that institutions of all sizes face in expanding or enhancing technology services.

On September 9, Ithaka S+R released the findings from its most recent survey of community college library directors on issues of leadership, strategy, and collaboration during the pandemic, “Library Strategy and Collaboration Across the College Ecosystem.” The survey, fielded in February and March, was the third phase of the Community College Academic and Student Service Ecosystem (CCASSE) project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

In the #MeToo era, we reflected on how widespread sexual harassment felt in our field, and we wanted to know whether that feeling was supported by evidence. A research team consisting of three academic librarians and two sociologists who specialize in data analysis decided to find out.

The 2021 ParkScore rankings, conducted annually by the Trust for Public Land, show a significant shakeup. It’s not because of major changes to the parks in the past year, but to the scoring: this year the Trust added equity to its decision matrix, which includes access, investment, amenities, and acreage. The resulting change in the lineup of top-scoring park systems shows how inadequate measuring overall access is for learning whether everyone is well served.

Earlier this spring, in conjunction with a survey of how academic library deans and directors’ perspectives and strategies around equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and anti-racism have changed over the last year, Ithaka S+R announced that it would launch an anti-racism talent management audit in partnership with library leaders from Binghamton University, NY, and the University of Delaware.

On March 17, Ithaka S+R released results from its most recent survey of more than 600 academic library deans and directors across the United States. The report, “National Movements for Racial Justice and Academic Library Leadership,” looks at how their perspectives and strategies around diversity, equity, inclusion (EDI), and antiracism have changed over the last year, as well as their perceptions of COVID-19’s financial impacts on staff and faculty of color.