Public Needs for Library and Museum Services Survey

Purpose: The purpose of Public Needs for Library and Museum Services (PNLMS) Survey is to determine attitudes, to assess awareness of issues related to library and museum services, and to track trends in visitation and usage.

Coverage: The sample size is 3,738 households. The sample included library users, museum users, dual users, and non-users.

Content: The data includes information about respondent’s visitation to libraries and museums, their attitudes toward library and museum services, and demographics about respondents. It also includes information about visitation and usage of libraries by children in the household.

Frequency: The PNLMS is a cross-sectional sample survey. Previous study (2008): InterConnections. No additional data collection is planned.

Methods: Data were collected through a random-digit dialing (RDD) telephone survey (landlines and cell phones), administered via computer assisted telephone interview (CATI).

Use: These data are useful to researchers, journalists, practitioners, the public, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels.

More about this survey:

• Questionnaire - English (PDF, 425 KB)
• Questionnaire - Spanish (PDF, 584 KB)

Public Use Data Files

• Data File Documentation (PDF, 2.1 MB)
• CSV Data Files (ZIP, 5.3 MB), SPSS Data File (ZIP, 369 KB)
• README File (TXT, 3.4 KB)