OCLC's new report, Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, includes findings from an international study of library use and information-seeking habits and preferences. The report is an effort to learn more about library use, awareness and use of library electronic resources, usage of search engines vs. librarians, free vs. fee information, and the "Library" brand. The report is big (290 pages) and can be found at http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/Percept_all.pdf.

I am still browsing through the report, but as the Librarian In Black and the Free Range Librarian mentioned it would have been nice if the report was in HTML as well.

"The goal of the report was first to inform OCLC's key decision makers to guide them in strategic planning and later to serve as a reference document for librarians as they work on strategic planning for their institutions and communities."

According to the Introduction:

"The findings presented in this report do not surprise, they confirm. During the hundreds of Scan discussions and meetings held over the past 24 months, several recurring themes surfaced. 'Users are not aware of the electronic resources libraries make freely available.' Our survey findings bear this out. 'Users are as comfortable using Web information sources as library sources.' Our study shows this perception also to be true, across countries, across U.S. age groups, across library card holders and non-card holders. 'The library brand is dated.' Again, our survey findings do not surprise, they confirm."

"Trends toward increased information self-service and seamlessness are clearly evident in the survey results. Libraries' mindshare in this new self-service e-resource environment is also clear: behind newer entrants. Libraries’ continued importance as a trusted information provider is evident and, overall, users have positive, if outdated, views of the 'Library.' Our collective challenge is, therefore, to take this information—both the positive and the challenging—and evaluate where to invest more, invest less, invent new and invert old, communicate more and market better.'

So let's look at some of the things the report found: (From the Conclusion)

• Respondents use search engines to begin an information search (84 percent). One percent begin an information search on a library web site.
• Quality and quantity of information are top determinants of satisfactory information search. Search engines are rated higher than librarians.
• The criterion selected by most informaticonsumersers to evaluate electronic resources is that the information is worthwhile. Free is a close second. Speed has less impact.
• Respondents do not trust purchased information more than free information. The verbatim comments suggest a high expectation of free information.
• Library users like to self-serve. Most respondents do not seek assistance when using library resources.
• Library card holders use information resources more than non-card holders, and they are more favorably disposed to libraries than non-card holders.
• Information consumers use the library. They use the library less and read less since they began using the Internet. The majority of respondents anticipate their usage of libraries will be flat in the future.
• Borrowing print books is the library services used most.
• "Books" is the library brand. There is no runner-up.
• Most information consumers are not aware of, nor do they use, most libraries' electronic information resources.
• College students have the highest rate of library use and the broadest use of library resources, both physical and electronic.
• Only 10 percent of college students indicated that their library's collection fulfilled their information needs after accessing the library Web site from a search engine.
• The majority of information consumers are aware of many library community services and of the role the library plays in the larger community. Most respondents agree the library is a place to learn.
• Information consumers like to self-serve. They use personal knowledge and common sense to judge if electroninformationton is trustworthy. The cross-reference other sites to validate their findings.
• Ninety percent of respondents are satisfied with their most recent search for information using a search engine. Satisfaction with the overall search experience has a strong correlation to the quality and quantity of information returned in the search process.
• People trust what they find using search engines. They also trust information from libraries. They trust them about the same.
• Search engines fit the information consumer's lifestyle better than physical or online libraries. The majority of U.S. Respondents, age 14 to 64 see search engines as a perfect fit.

UGH, so that is a great way to start off a weekend. Basically the introduction to the report is exactly right, the results are not a surprise they just merely confirm what we (librarians) have feared but in some ways knew.

I see some of these user attitudes at my library and at the one I used to work at.

At my previous library, we had many users who knew about and used the library's resources, but it was a giant institution and we probably had just as many users who had no clue. My current library was without an adequate web presence (library intranet page) and adequate online resources (online catalog, electronic journals) for so long prior to my employment. It has been a real struggle since I started working here and creating these things to get my users to think about the library online.

Then you have the people who come to the hospital library only when their 6th grade child needs to do a report for health class on some sort of medical condition. I don't want to discourage them frcominging to the library, but my library clearly does not have the resources for a 6th graders health report.

Search engines rule the world (in a way). I recently heard of one of our program heads who would tell his interns, residents, and students to go look it up on Google when they were faced with a medical question. Ironically this program head is a big proponent of the library and is often in my libramultipleple times a day. We joke that this is his second office. He knewexistedted, he has used me for many things, but on the floors when you can't leave and rushed for time, it was simply easier for him to look it up on Google.

So what are we to do? Obviously the status quo is not the answer. We didn't get this way in our users minds in one day. It took a while, so it is going to take a while to get us out of this mess and there is no avoiding it.