New York -- Americans prize public library service in the Internet Age, a new research report released today by the nonpartisan public opinion research organization Public Agenda concludes. As local communities and states contend with tight budget constraints for public services, the public sees libraries as potential solutions to many communities' most pressing problems, from universal access to computers to the need for better options for keeping teens safe and productive.

Long Overdue: A Fresh Look at Public Attitudes About Libraries in the 21st Century reports the results of a national study of the general public as well as interviews with national and local civic leaders (see methodology below). This multi-level public opinion study identifies a troubling issue for library advocates: While Americans give their public libraries an A more often than any other community service asked about (45% give libraries an A) and a large majority of the public (71%) says their local library uses public money well, few Americans are aware of the increasingly tenuous financial picture faced by many libraries.

Most Americans say that if their library shut down because of lack of funding they would feel that something essential and important has been lost, affecting the whole community (78%) In contrast, just 17% said while something important was lost, it really only affects a few people in the community and only 3% said the loss would not be important.

Four areas of opportunity resonated most with the public and leaders alike: (1) providing stronger services for teens, (2) helping address illiteracy and poor reading skills among adults, (3) providing ready access to information about government services, including making public documents and forms readily available and (4) providing even greater access to computers for all.

The research was conducted by Public Agenda with support from the Americans for Libraries Council with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For the full report go to http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/long-overdue

Libraries are clearly at the heart of the America's vision for communities into the future, said Public Agenda President Ruth A. Wooden. This research provides substantial evidence that, even with the vast and increasing amount of information available on the Internet and more competition for public funding, Americans want public libraries to continue to play a vital role in communities.

Libraries are poised to solve a number of urgent community problems, said Diantha Dow Schull, President of Americans for Libraries Council. It is gratifying to see that libraries continue to meet public demand as information leaders in the digital age. Now we have an opportunity to build on that trust to expand the work libraries are already doing to provide safe places for our teens; provide quality health information; expand access to technology; and so many other crucial community roles for the 21st century. The public support is there, and the library community is ready.

Valued, Well-Run Institutions

Libraries came out on top when the public assessed the performance of local institutions ranging from public schools and the police department to public parks and cultural activities. Forty-five percent give an A to their local community for maintaining well-run libraries, far ahead of even the other highest ranked community assets like parks (31%), public education (25%), healthcare (22%), public meeting places (21%) and well-maintained streets (19%). On which institutions do the best job in their communities, more Americans said libraries are doing an excellent job (31%) than the local police department (22%), public schools (18%), local media (12%) or local government (7%).

The American public has a clear sense of what is absolutely crucial in a local library for basic success. More than 8 in 10 Americans believe that keeping services free should be a very high priority. Having enough current books for children, enough reference materials, friendly, knowledgeable library staff, and good programs for children and teens are also considered absolute essentials for libraries.

Digital Age Destination

While Americans value basic library services, they also highly value and endorse the further development of libraries' Internet and other computer services. Almost two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe having enough computers and online services for people should be a high priority for their local library. In order to address the digital divide, 63 percent favor wiring public libraries and schools over doing nothing (11%) or helping low-income families purchase computers and get internet access (18%).

Half (52%) the public gives their local library an A or B for having enough computers. Roughly a third (35%) report having visited the Internet site of a public library.

Americans' mandate for libraries' investment in computers and Internet access is particularly noteworthy given that most respondents are already wired at home or at work. On any given day, most of the public (8 in 10) have access to a computer at their workplace, school or home. But this does not seem to lessen their attachment to library's digital services - one-third of those surveyed also said they have used the library themselves for internet access.

Those who think public libraries are primarily used by folks who can't afford bookstores and are becoming the information resources of last resort are clearly mistaken. Families with higher incomes are even more likely to use public libraries and the technology services they offer than low-income families.

Civically Active on Stand-by

The study assembled an over-sample of civically engaged people (see methodology) in order to understand how these locally active folks - the people in every community who make things happen but who don't necessarily hold any official post - think of libraries. These citizens, who nearly always vote in local elections and involve themselves in community activities, are big fans of libraries. Nearly three-quarters have a library card, compared to 59 percent of the rest of the survey sample, and they are more likely to give their local libraries good grades on a variety of dimensions. They are also more likely to favor increasing taxes to support libraries over other funding options.

While these highly engaged citizens are even more upbeat than others about their libraries, they are no more likely to believe their libraries are facing potential funding cutbacks. Forty-five percent of the civically engaged think their local government has not provided enough money and assistance to the public libraries in their communities, 42 percent think they have and 13 percent say they just don't know. This compares similarly to the general public (43%, 41% and 15% respectively). As major supporters of libraries and strongly opposed to both reductions in services or charging of fees, the research demonstrates that civically active group could well be potentially vocal, activated protesters should their local libraries encounter funding shortfalls.

Opportunities to Do More

In order to identify the most favorable potential opportunities for libraries to strengthen public support, Public Agenda asked the public about their priorities for urgent action in their communities and which areas they think government should be more effective but where current performance is relatively poor. Researchers explored the same terrain in the interviews with national and local leadership.

The public is very concerned about teenagers and feel that providing safe and productive activities for teens should be a high priority (72%) for their communities. This is also an area where the public potentially holds their local governments accountable as they believe local government both can and should do more for teens. In the public's reckoning, libraries can potentially fill the gap: 3 out of 4 Americans (74%) believe providing services for teens should be a high priority for libraries. Another major opportunity for libraries to fill community needs is with providing literacy and reading programs for adults, which many civic leaders tied to strengthening workforce skills and economic development. Sixty-eight percent of the public said adult literacy programs should be a high priority for the community, very few said it was something their community was doing a very good job of providing and a large majority (68%) said it should be a high priority for their local library.

Linking Vocalized Support to Financial Support

Long Overdue finds the greatest challenge for libraries today is not convincing the public of their worth - in the present or for the future. The research substantiates libraries' community value, serving many needs today and continuing with the changing times. But libraries cannot survive on accolades alone, the report concludes. If they are to compete successfully for dwindling public dollars, if they are to develop the community connections and visibility that they require to thrive, public libraries will need to look carefully at opportunities to showcase and strengthen their role in addressing serious problems in their own communities. Then they need to start speaking up and reaching out to the citizen soldiers who can help support and buttress this vital community institution.

Methodology: The findings in Long Overdue are based on telephone interviews with a national random sample of 1,203 adults 18 years and older. Of those, 458 interviews were done with respondents who were considered community soldiers or civic influentials. Interviews were conducted between March 2 and March 14, 2006. The survey was preceded by seven focus groups in five communities and 34 in-depth interviews with a variety of national and community leaders. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points for the community soldiers portion of the sample. The margin of error is higher when comparing percentages across subgroups with smaller sample sizes.

Americans for Libraries Council is a nonprofit organization that works to keep libraries high on the national agenda and at the center of our communities. The council unites leaders from many sectors academic, artistic, corporate, governmental, nonprofit and philanthropic to build support for America's remarkable system of libraries. Through our program division, Libraries for the Future, we develop and oversee programs in more than 200 libraries in 23 states. Signature programs include EqualAccess Libraries, Family Place Libraries, Lifelong Access Libraries and the Gulf Coast Libraries Renewal Fund. www.americansforlibraries.org.

Public Agenda is a nonprofit organization dedicated to nonpartisan public policy research. Founded in 1975 by former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Daniel Yankelovich, the social scientist and author, Public Agenda is well respected for its influential public opinion surveys and balanced citizen education materials. Its mission is to inject the public's voice into crucial policy debates. Public Agenda seeks to inform leaders about the public's views and to engage citizens in discussing complex policy issues.