Pew Research Announces New Initiative to Study Changing Role of Public Libraries and Users

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 2011
Contact: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 202-419-4510
Vidya Krishnamurthy, Communications Director, Pew Research Center, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 202-419-4328

Pew Research Center Announces New Research Initiative to Study the Changing Role of Public Libraries and Library Users in the Digital Age

Grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Will Support New Effort by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

WASHINGTON — The Pew Research Center today announced plans to study how the role of public libraries is changing in the digital age and how library patrons' needs and expectations are shifting. The new research is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a 3-year, $1.4 million investment and will be conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

Through national surveys, a series of focus groups in a diverse mix of communities, and special surveys of library patrons, the Pew Internet Project will examine how library users' habits and tastes are changing in the age of e-books, widespread mobile connectivity and the existence of vast digital collections.

The new research will be launched as the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank based in Washington, DC, expands its research on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.