Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 14, 2012) Barbara Genco from LJ/SLJ will highlight findings from the LJ’s first the first report in LJ’s Patron Profiles series that was released in October and looks at how public library users use/purchase ebooks.
Her presentation is titled:
“Public Library Power Patrons Are Your Best Customers: Lessons from Patron Profiles, the Library Journal/Bowker PubTrack Consumer Research Partnership” and will be streamed live from the conference beginning at approx. 9:50 am EST.
A live stream of the presentation (as well as many other keynotes) from Tools of Change is available here. A schedule of streamed events is also included on the page.
From the Patron Profiles News Release (October 2011):
You will never think of library users the same way again. Case in point: regular public library users don’t just borrow books. They are also active books buyers who make many of their purchasing decisions based on the authors or books they first discover in the library. In fact, over 50 percent of all library users go on to purchase books by an author they were introduced to in the library. This finding is just one of the many key insights to emerge from “Library Patrons and Ebook Usage,” the first issue of Library Journal’s Patron Profiles: Understanding the behavior and preferences of U.S. public library users.
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Other significant findings include:
- Power Patrons, those library users who visit the library at least weekly, drive much of the library’s circulation, are active consumers—and buyers—of all media, including ebooks, and vote at a higher rate than other patrons. .
- The Ebook Patrons, a small but highly engaged group who prefer reading ebooks, are active users of social networks, and utilize the library’s full range of digital offerings more than other patrons. Overall, ebook patrons demonstrate strong loyalty to digital formats.
- Face and place matter. While library collections were the top reason for library visits, interaction with the library staff and the ambience of libraries themselves drew the highest satisfaction ratings.
About Gary Price
