The Myth and the Reality of the Evolving Patron

Abstract

Mary P. Popp, 2012-2013 RUSA President, provided the leadership and inspiration for this annual program which drew a large audience that filled all the seats and spilled over onto the floor of the McCormick Place convention center room for five hundred in Chicago on June 29 at the ALA annual Conference. Lee Rainie, the Director of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project was the big draw, and he delivered. His dynamic and informative speech was laced with humor that was warmly received by the audience. Rainie was also generous with his time. He participated in a follow-up discussion forum on June 30 where he was joined in a panel discussion by Emily Ford, Urban and Public Affairs Librarian at Portland State University; Marie L. Radford, Chair, and Information Science Department, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and Joyce Valenza, teacher-librarian at Springfield Township High School, PA, and part-time professor. Joseph Thompson, Associate Director of the Western Maryland Regional and chair of the program committee, moderated the program and discussion forum. Other program committee members were Dianna McKellar, Emily Kornak, Sherri Michaels, Mary Mintz (cochair), Matthew Neer, and Mary Popp. A summary of Rainie's presentation follows along with reactions from Ford, Radford, and Valenza who not only participated in the discussion forum as panelists, but also generously agreed to describe their reactions to his presentation for this report.--Editor Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project (www.pewInternet.org), spoke at the 2013 RUSA President's Program at the Annual Meeting of the American Association, Chicago. To experience the full impact of Rainie's presentation, readers may view the program recording (www.ala.org/rusa/rusa-presidents-program-video) and slides (www.slideshare.net/ PewInternet/2013-6-29-13-evolving-library-patron-rusa-atala-pdf). Additionally, one can read the Pew reports on libraries (www.pewInternet.org/Topics/Activities-and-Pursuits/ Libraries.aspx?typeFilter=5), including Library Services in the Digital Age (www.pewInternet.org/Topics/Activities-and-Pursuits/Libraries.aspx?typeFilter=5). This article highlights Rainie's key points from Pew survey data on America's library use. Following this summary, responses from leading library thinkers Emily Ford, Marie L. Radford, and Joyce Valenza, discuss their takeaways and thoughts from Rainie's presentation. SUMMARY OF LEE RAINIE'S PRESENTATION Rainie began by noting that the technology revolution has changed patron expectations of public libraries and experiences with libraries in five different ways. These expectations and experiences have undergone an evolution driven by patrons' (1) engagement or need, (2) life stage, (3) life stressors, (4) demographics, and by (5) library innovations. Librarians find it challenging to meet user expectations to both retain traditional services while embracing new service innovations, which can create a world full of pain, for librarians. Pew data found that 53 percent of Americans aged 16 or older visited a public library in the previous year. Women account for 59 percent of library users with parents of minors accounting for 63 percent of overall use. Somewhat surprisingly, among seniors 65 or older, only 40 percent reported visits. Sixty-three percent of library visitors have some college education. Based on the data, Rainie suggested that libraries may want to romance the moms among their potential users. What do library users do when they visit public libraries? The top three reported activities were borrowing books (73 percent), browsing books/media (73 percent), research (54 percent), and get help from a librarian (50 percent). Interesting demographic data characterized some of these activities. For instance, people under age 30 were more likely to do research. African Americans, especially seniors, were among those most likely to request assistance from librarians. …