Libraries 2016
Trends in visiting public libraries have steadied, and many Americans have high expectations for what their local libraries should offer
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Trends in visiting public libraries have steadied, and many Americans have high expectations for what their local libraries should offer
Libraries have been in flux since the dawn of the digital age. They face changes in the materials they provide, in use of their services, in the composition of their patron populations, and in demands for new services. It is a set of disruptions as far-reaching and disorienting as the changes that are occurring in […]
Many Americans rely on cell phone internet access due to a lack of broadband at home. But are these devices a good substitute?
A substantial share of these respondents addressed the query we posed about the future of credentialing. They generally expect a burst of activity on this front and think that a major catalyst will be the growing numbers of workers who teach themselves new job-related skills in self-administered online programs. While the traditional college degree will […]
Will training for the skills likely to be most important in the jobs of the future work be effective in large-scale settings by 2026? Respondents in this canvassing overwhelmingly said yes, anticipating improvements in such education will continue. However, when respondents answered the question, “Which of these skills can be taught effectively via online systems?” […]
Another way to understand digital readiness and its connection to use of tech tools in learning is to simply compare measures of digital readiness to the likelihood people use digital tools to pursue personal learning. This section does that by looking at: Whether people used the internet in the course of their personal learning in […]
Those who have more pathways to access digital information express fewer concerns about information overload. The survey measured three key technological “access pathways” to information: 70% of U.S. adults have home broadband subscriptions. 72% have smartphones. 48% have tablet computers. Overall, 39% of adults have all three access pathways; 28% have two of the three; […]
Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center have asked questions that relate to learning in several earlier canvassings in the “Future of the Internet” series. The first was in 2004. In that study, 59% agreed and only 15% disagreed that the following scenario was likely by 2014: “Enabled by information technologies, the […]
The respondents to this canvassing offered a variety of ideas about how individuals and the broader culture might respond to the algorithm-ization of life. They noted that those who create and evolve algorithms are not held accountable to society and argued there should be some method by which they are. They also argued there is […]
Consumers have long relied on advice and recommendations from others before making purchasing decisions, and Americans today have access to a vast library of customer ratings and reviews that they can consult when deciding if products or services are worth their money. This survey finds that a substantial majority of the public now incorporates these […]
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