American Library Association (American Library Association, Public Programs Office)

The American Library Association's (ALA) Public Program Office will use its grant to develop and disseminate a white paper that documents the characteristics, audiences, outcomes, and value of public programming in libraries at a national level. The project team will examine general trends emerging from recent evaluations and use that data to create a framework for describing public programming in libraries, identify gaps in current knowledge, and develop research strategies to serve the field. Assessing the state of library programming on a national level will increase understanding of how library programs increase broad public access to knowledge and foster support for lifelong learners across diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.