Perceptions on Library Funding

OCLC was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore attitudes and perceptions about library funding and to evaluate the potential of a large-scale marketing and advocacy campaign to increase public library funding in the U.S.

Among the findings from the report:

-       Library funding support is only marginally related to library visitation.

-       Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of library funding support..

-       Voters who see the library as a 'transformational' force as opposed to an 'informational' source are more likely to increase taxes in its support.

The report suggests that targeting marketing messages to the right segments of the voting public is key to driving increased support for U.S. public libraries.

De Rosa, C., Johnson, J., Gauder, B., Limes, R., Smith, S., & Burnett, L. (2008). From awareness to funding: A study of library support in America. Dublin, OH: https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/reports/funding/fullreport.pdf

Digital surveillance study

Students may be under "constant digital surveillance and marketing at school," according to the National Education Policy Center. The report shows that some firms provide free services to schools and, in turn, collect data about students' online activities. The report considers how schools facilitate the work of digital marketers and examine the effects of their tracking of and marketing to children.
Boninger, F., & Molnar, A. (2016). Learning to be watched: Surveillance culture at school. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center.
http://nepc.colorado.edu/files/publications/RB%20Boninger-Molnar%20Trends.pdf