Library experiences

LITA/ALA Survey of Library Response to COVID-19

The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and its ALA partners are seeking a new round of feedback about the work of libraries as they respond to the COVID-19 crisis, releasing a survey and requesting feedback by 11:59 p.m. CDT, Monday, May 18, 2020. Please complete the survey by clicking on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/libraries-respond-to-covid-19-may-2020

LITA and its ALA partners know that libraries across the United States are taking unprecedented steps to answer the needs of their communities, and this survey will help build a better understanding of those efforts. LITA and its ALA partners will use the results to advocate on behalf of libraries at the national level, communicate aggregated results with the public and media, create content and professional development opportunities to address library staff needs, and share some raw, anonymized data elements with state-level staff and library support organizations for their own advocacy needs. 

Additional information about the survey: All library types are encouraged to respond. We are surveying at the library organizational level and are not collecting outlet/branch data. Financial-related data will only be used in aggregate and not shared in raw data format. Any raw data that is shared with states or other library support organizations outside of ALA will be anonymized. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete, and all completed respondents will be automatically entered to win one of ten $30 gift certificates to the ALA Store.

Special thanks to the Colorado State Library’s Library Research Service and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Library Data Alliance partners, Association of Research Libraries, and the ACRL Academic Library Trends & Statistics Survey Editorial Board. Additional information about the survey can be found at: http://www.ala.org/pla/issues/covid-19/surveyoverview.