Survey of american college students use of the academic library

Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant 37Table 3.14 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location?. 38Table 4

SURVEY OF AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS: USE OF THE ACADEMIC LIBRARY WEBSITE

ISBN 978-1-57440-505-7 ©2018 Primary Research Group Inc.

2 | P a g e

3 | P a g e

Contents

THE QUESTIONNAIRE 8

Characteristics of the Sample 13

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS 17

Percentage of Students Who Use the College Library Website for Any Reason 17

Student Evaluation of the Ease of Looking for Information through the College Website17 Use of Library Databases from a Remote Location 18

Number of Visits to the Library Website in the Past Week 18

Student Evaluation of the Quality of the Training they have Received in Use of the Library Website 19

Table 1.1 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? 20

Table 1.2 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by age of survey participant 20

Table 1.3 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out for survey participants from rural, suburban and urban areas of origin 20

Table 1.4 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out regional origins of the survey participant 21

Table 1.5 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by college year class standing 21

Table 1.6 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by approximate student family annual income 21

Table 1.7 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant 22

Table 1.8 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by type of political beliefs of the survey participant 22

Table 1.9 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by college grades of the survey participant 22

Table 1.10 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by current or likely college major of the survey participant 23

Table 1.11 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by gender of the survey participant 23

Table 1.12 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out for students in public or private colleges: 23

Table 1.13 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant 24

Table 1.14 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by employment circumstance of the survey participant 24

Table 1.15 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by sexual orientation of the survey participant 24

Table 1.16 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant 25

Table 1.17 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity 25

Table 2.1 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? 26

Table 2.2 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by age of survey participant 26

Table 2.3 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out for survey participants from rural, suburban and urban areas of origin 26

4 | P a g e

Table 2.4 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out regional origins of the survey participant 27Table 2.5 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by college year class standing 27Table 2.6 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by approximate student family annual income 27Table 2.7 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant 28Table 2.8 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by type of political beliefs of the survey participant 28Table 2.9 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by college grades of the survey participant 29Table 2.10 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by current or likely college major of the survey participant 29Table 2.11 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by gender of the survey participant 29Table 2.12 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out for students in public or private colleges: 30Table 2.13 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant 30Table 2.14 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by employment circumstance of the survey participant 31Table 2.15 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by sexual orientation of the survey participant 31Table 2.16 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant 31Table 2.17 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity 32Table 3.1 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? 33Table 3.2 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by age of survey participant 33Table 3.3 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out for survey participants from rural, suburban and urban areas of origin 33Table 3.4 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out regional origins of the survey participant 34Table 3.5 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by college year class standing 34Table 3.6 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by approximate student family annual income 34Table 3.7 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant 35Table 3.8 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by type of political beliefs of the survey participant 35Table 3.9 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by college grades of the survey participant 35Table 3.10 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by current or likely college major of the survey participant 36

5 | P a g e

Table 3.11 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by gender of the survey participant 36Table 3.12 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out for students in public or private colleges 36Table 3.13 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant 37Table 3.14 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by employment circumstance of the survey participant 37Table 3.15 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by sexual orientation of the survey participant 37Table 3.16 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant 38Table 3.17 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity 38Table 4.1 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? 39Table 4.2 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by age of survey participant 39Table 4.3 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out for survey

participants from rural, suburban and urban areas of origin 39Table 4.4 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out regional origins

of the survey participant 40Table 4.5 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by college year class standing 40Table 4.6 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by approximate student family annual income 40Table 4.7 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant 41Table 4.8 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by type of

political beliefs of the survey participant 41Table 4.9 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by college grades

of the survey participant 42Table 4.10 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by current or likely college major of the survey participant 42Table 4.11 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by gender of the survey participant 42Table 4.12 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out for students in public or private colleges 43

orientation of the survey participant 44Table 4.16 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant 44Table 4.17 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity 45Table 5.1 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? 46Table 5.2 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by age of survey participant 46Table 5.3 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out for survey participants from rural, suburban and urban areas of origin 47Table 5.4 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out regional origins of the survey participant 47Table 5.5 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by college year class standing 48Table 5.6 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by approximate student family annual income 48Table 5.7 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant 49Table 5.8 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by type of political beliefs of the survey participant 49Table 5.9 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by college grades of the survey participant 50Table 5.10 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by current or likely college major of the survey participant 50Table 5.11 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by gender of the survey participant 51Table 5.12 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out for students in public or private colleges 51Table 5.13 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant 52Table 5.14 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by employment circumstance of the survey

participant 52Table 5.15 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by sexual orientation of the survey participant 53

7 | P a g e

Table 5.16 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant 53Table 5.17 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity 54

A I grew up in a major city with more than 350,000 people

B I grew up in a small or medium sized city with less than 350,000 people

C I grew up in a suburban area

D I grew up in a rural area

4 I grew up mostly in:

9 | P a g e

6 The approximate annual income level of my family of origin (your Mom & Dad or legal guardian) was:

For students over the age of 40 use your current family income

A Less than $45,000 per year

B $45,000 to $80,000 per year

C $80,000+ to $150,000 per year

D More than $150,000 per year

7 How would you describe your relationship with organized religion?

A I practice a religion thoroughly and consider my religion to be a very important part of my life

B I practice a religion and try to attend regular services and to participate as much

as I can

C I identify with a religion but can't say I put a lot of effort into practicing it

D I don't really believe in or practice an organized religion

8 Choose the phrase that best describes your political views:

A Very Left Wing

B Liberal

C Middle of the Road

D Conservative

E Very Right Wing

9 Which phrase best describes your college academic performance? (If you have not yet received any grades choose what your tests and other experiences suggest will

10 | P a g e

10 Choose the phrase that best describes your academic major or likely major:

A Business, Economics or Finance

B Fine Arts or Performing Arts

C Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Pre-Med, Nursing

D Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science

E Philosophy, History, English, Classics, Languages

F Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology or other Social Science

G Other (please specify)

C I'm not sure

13 Currently you live:

A At home with my parents or guardian

B Off campus with others who are not my parents or guardian

C Off campus alone

D In Fraternity or Sorority Supplied Housing

E On campus in the dorms or college-provided suites

14 Which phrase best describes your current employment situation:

A I don't have a full or part time job

B I have a part time job

C I have a full-time job

15 Which phrase best describes your sexual orientation?

A Heterosexual or "straight"

B Homosexual or "gay"

C Transgender

11 | P a g e

16 Which category best captures your highest overall SAT or ACT score? The SAT score is based on the new 1600-point standard so if you were tested under the old 2400-point standard it would be 2/3 of this score

A 30 or over ACT or 1350 or over SAT

B 24-29 ACT or 1170 to 1349 SAT

C 20-23 ACT or 1050 to 1169 SAT

D 17-19 ACT or 900 to 1050 SAT

E 16 or Under ACT or Under 900 SAT

F Never Took Either Test

17 Which phrase best describes your racial or ethnic identity?

Very Easy Relatively Easy Not Usually Easy Hard Very Hard

20 Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location?

A Yes

B No

21 In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library?

12 | P a g e

22 What do you think of the quality of the training that you have received in using the college library website?

A Never received any training

B Poor or Insufficient training

C Passable training

D Good Training

E Excellent Training

13 | P a g e

Characteristics of the Sample

How old are you? (answer in number of years) e.g., "19" 0r "23"Do not include fractions or descriptive phrases such as "years old":

#

I grew up in a major city with more

I grew up in a small or medium sized

city with less than 350,000 people 250

I grew up in a suburban area 350

I grew up in a rural area 270

I grew up mostly in:

# The South 188

More than $150,000 per year 162

Income not specified 20

How would you describe your relationship with organized religion?

#

I practice a religion thoroughly and consider my religion to

be a very important part of my life

207

I practice a religion and try to attend regular services and to

I identify with a religion but can't say I put a lot of effort into

15 | P a g e

Choose the phrase that best describes your academic major or likely major:

Business, Economics or Finance 149

Fine Arts or Performing Arts 90

Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Pre-Med, Nursing 299

Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science 123

Philosophy, History, English, Classics,

Psychology, Sociology, Political Science,

Anthropology or other Social Science 256

At home with my parents or guardian 104

Off campus with others who are not my

In Fraternity or Sorority Supplied Housing 22

On campus in the dorms or

I have a part time job 546

I have a full time job 120

Which phrase best describes your sexual orientation?

# Heterosexual or "straight" 965

16 or Under ACT or Under 900 SAT 11

17 | P a g e

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

Percentage of Students Who Use the College Library Website for Any Reason

We asked: Have you ever used the college library website for any reason?

89.39% of respondents had used the library website at some point Freshmen and

students from lower income family backgrounds were more likely than others to have never used the college library website 12.24% of students from families which earn less than $45,000 per year had never used the library website Also, students in the C grade range were also much less likely than their counterparts with higher grades to have never used the library website; 15.12% had not Students in the hard sciences were also

significantly more likely than others to have never used the library website; 11.37% of those in biology, physics and other hard sciences had not used the library website ever, as well as 11.38% of those in engineering, mathematics, computer science and related fields More than twice as many public college as private college students have never used the college library website – 11.24% vs 5.12% Hispanic students also had a much higher propensity than others to have never used the library website; 16.88% of Hispanic

students had never used its vs 9.11% of Caucasian students, 5.97% of Asian students and 0% of black students

Student Evaluation of the Ease of Looking for Information through the College

C students had a particularly difficult time 24.42% found it “Not Usually Easy” and close to 6% found it either hard or very hard More than 30% of students in this cohort are having

a hard time with the library website Students with SAT scores below 900 or ACT scores 16

or under also had a particularly tough time with 36% finding it not usually easy or hard Ethnic Asian and mixed-race students also seemed to have a harder time than others with more than 22% of both groups experiencing some level of discomfort with the library website

18 | P a g e

Use of Library Databases from a Remote Location

We asked: Have you ever used a database from your academic library from a non-library location?

78.72% of those surveyed had used a database from the academic library from a library location Students raised in the American West were much more likely than others not to have done this – 23.75% had not, vs 14.54% of students raised in the Northeast Politically conservative students were also less likely to have used library databases from a remote location, 23.81% had not done so C students were much more likely than those in higher grade ranges to have not tapped into library databases remotely – 29.07% gad never done so Students in engineering, mathematics, computer science and similar fields are also less likely than others to have tapped into a library database from a remote

non-location – 24.39% have not

The lower a student’s ACT or SAT scores, the lower the likelihood that they have tapped into a library database from a remote location Approximately 84% of those with SAT scores over 1350 or ACT scores of 30 or above have accessed a library database from a remote location, a percentage that drops to 81.57% for those with SAT scores from 1170 to

1349 or ACT scores of 24-29 and then to 77% for those with ACT scores of 20-23 or SAT scores of 1050 to 1169 For students with ACT scores of 17-19 or SAT scores of between

900 and 1050, this percentage falls to 70.37%; for students with ACT scores of 16 or under

or SAT scores under 900, only 54.55% had ever tapped into a database from their academic library from a remote location Hispanic and American Indian/Indigenous students were significantly less likely than students from other ethnic and racial backgrounds to have used a library database from outside the library – only 68.83% of the former and 60% of the latter had done so

Number of Visits to the Library Website in the Past Week

We asked: In the past week, how many times have you visited the college library website, either while you are physically in or out of the college library?

The mean was 1.92 times with a median of 1 and a range of 0 to 25 Use was highest among students raised abroad, who had visited the library website a mean of 3.18 times in the past month Use was also high among students from low income families; their mean

number of visits in the past week to the college library website was 2.42, far more than those form other income ranges In general, the more left wing a student, the more likely that they were to visit the library website; liberal students visited a mean of 2.12 times vs 1.43 times for conservatives Students in engineering and mathematics and related fields visited the library website much less than other students, a mean of only 1.12 times in the past week, less than half the amount of social science students, who visited a mean of 2.33 times in the past week

Use was scant by those in lower ACT/SAT score ranges; those that had ACT scores of 17-19

or SAT scores from 900 to 1050 used the library website only 1.4 times in the past week Black students also used the website less than those of other backgrounds, a mean of 1.5 times in the past week

A plurality of 32.86% of respondents felt that their training was only “Passable” while another 30.14% called their training “Good”; however, a surprising 18.5% felt that they had not received any training and 9% considered training “Poor or Insufficient.” Another 7.42% considered their training “Excellent.”

Students raised in the US West seemed particularly unhappy and less than 30% felt that their training was good or excellent vs a sample mean of 37.56% Students in the C grade range are also less happy than others; a bit more than 30% considered their training good

or excellent More than 43% of private college students were quite satisfied vs only about 35.5% of public college students More than 55% of black students considered their

training good or excellent vs only a shade more than 35% of Hispanic students who felt the same way

Urban, Rural or Suburban Origins No Answer Yes No

I grew up in a major city with more than

I grew up in a small or medium sized city

with less than 350,000 people 1.20% 87.20% 11.60%

I grew up in a suburban area 1.71% 88.57% 9.71%

Approximate student family annual

Less than $45,000 per year 0.82% 86.94% 12.24%

$45,000 to $80,000 per year 2.47% 89.51% 8.02%

$80,000+ to $150,000 per year 1.59% 89.17% 9.24% More than $150,000 per year 0.00% 93.83% 6.17%

22 | P a g e

Table 1.7 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by degree of religiosity of the survey participant

How would you describe your

relationship with organized

religion?

I practice a religion thoroughly and

consider my religion to be a very

important part of my life

I practice a religion and try to attend

regular services and to participate as

much as I can

I identify with a religion but can't

say I put a lot of effort into

Choose the phrase that

best describes your

Which phrase best

describes your college

Choose the phrase that best

describes your academic major or

likely major:

Business, Economics or Finance 1.34% 89.26% 9.40% Fine Arts or Performing Arts 1.11% 93.33% 5.56% Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Pre-

Psychology, Sociology, Political

Science, Anthropology or other

24 | P a g e

Table 1.13 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by type of domestic housing arrangement of the survey participant

At home with my parents or

Off campus with others who

are not my parents or

Which phrase best

describes your current

employment

situation?

I don't have a full or

I have a part time job 1.47% 92.31% 6.23%

I have a full time job 2.50% 85.00% 12.50%

Table 1.15 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by sexual orientation of the survey participant

Which phrase best

describes your sexual

25 | P a g e

Table 1.16 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by ACT or SAT scores of the survey participant

Which category best

captures your highest

overall SAT or ACT score?

Table 1.17 Have you ever used the college library website for any reason? Broken out by racial or ethnic identity

Which phrase best

describes your racial or

Urban, Rural or Suburban

Origins No Answer Very Easy Relatively Easy Not Usually

Easy

Hard Very

Hard

I grew up in a major city with

more than 350,000 people 1.54% 20.00% 57.44% 17.95% 2.05% 1.03%

I grew up in a small or

medium sized city with less

than 350,000 people

3.60% 18.80% 63.60% 11.60% 1.60% 0.80%

I grew up in a suburban area 2.57% 16.57% 62.86% 14.86% 2.29% 0.86%

I grew up in a rural area 3.33% 15.19% 62.22% 14.81% 2.96% 1.48%

27 | P a g e

Table 2.4 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out regional origins of the survey participant

Northeast 1.77% 17.38% 64.18% 13.12% 2.13% 1.42% The

Midwest 1.70% 17.45% 64.68% 14.47% 1.28% 0.43% The West 5.69% 13.38% 61.20% 15.72% 2.68% 1.34% Abroad

Table 2.6 How easy is it to find information that you are looking for through the college website? Broken out by approximate student family annual income