Interesting and timely report from the American Library Association (ALA) on the state of America’s libraries.

The ALA report says that when jobs go away, Americans turn to their libraries to find information about future employment or educational opportunities. This library usage trend shows that Americans have turned to their libraries in larger numbers in recent years.

However, the report also shows that increased library use did not lead to an increase in funding for libraries. The research by the ALA and the Center for Library and Information Innovation at the University of Maryland suggests a “perfect storm” of growing community demand for library services and shrinking resources to meet that demand.

While library use soars, a majority of states are reporting cuts in funding to public libraries and to the state library agencies that support them.

For the full report, click HERE.