Standing single file, the line of questioners would stretch from Boston to San Francisco. A 1998 poll conducted by Gallup for the American Library Association found that nearly all respondents expect libraries to be needed in the future, despite the increased availability of information via computer. Americans check out an average of six books a year. Public libraries are the number one point of online access for people without Internet connections at home, school, or work. Seventy-four percent of public libraries now offer access to the Internet.
Research shows the highest achieving students attend schools with good library media centers.
College libraries receive less than 3 cents of every dollar spent on higher education. This publication is available upon request on a computer disk, cassette tape, in braille or in large print.