After the success of last summer’s survey on education, we asked BCLA members to answer questions on technology and libraries. We were thrilled to have 144 participants share their backgrounds, thoughts and experiences. These results have provided insight into areas...
BCLA Perspectives
The Technology Survey
Survey: About the respondents
This article highlights some of the professional background information of the respondents which helps inform the survey results. Institutions Our BCLA survey respondents are mostly working in public libraries (74%), with the second most common institution being...
Survey: Preferred learning methods for technology
Question: How do you prefer to learn about & keep up with library technology? We asked respondents to share their preferred methods for learning about technology. Of the 144 responses, about 15% chose only one preferred method for learning, while the majority of...
Survey: Assisting library users with technology
Question: Assisting Library Users with Technology: How comfortable are you doing the following? Please rate the statements on this scale: 1= not comfortable | 2 = neutral | 3= comfortable | 4= N/A Teaching users how to use basic hardware (e-readers, mobile devices,...
Survey: Technology development in the workplace
Question: Technology development in the workplace: How comfortable do you feel doing the following? Please rate the statements on this scale: 1= not comfortable | 2 = neutral | 3= comfortable | 4= N/A Asking for training or assistance with on-the-job technology...
Survey: Institutional support
Question: What kind of support does your institution provide for developing skills in technology? (Check all that apply) Of the 143 respondents, 10% said their workplace provides none of the support options. For the remaining calculations, we removed...
Survey: Technology frustrations
Question: What frustrates you about technology in your position and/or day-to-day work? (Ex: Products that don’t work as advertised, workflows that are now out of date, devices or tools you’ve struggled to learn or teach to others.) A whopping 116 respondents answered...
Survey: Technologies piquing interest and desired in the workplace
Question: What technologies are you interested in knowing more about, developing skills in, or would like to see brought to your workplace? Thoughtful responses from 93 respondents offered multiple answers to this question. Their motives were...
Survey: Resources for staying informed
Question: How do you stay fresh and informed in the library field? Please share any related apps, blogs, podcasts, websites, social media accounts, etc. Technology provides seemingly endless opportunities to learn more about libraries, our work, and the broader fields...