2016.01.13 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Washington County residents are highly educated, with 96% obtaining a high school graduate degree or higher. In addition, around 40% of its population has bachelor's degree or higher, up from 26% in 1990. Educational achievement and higher household incomes both correlate positively with library usage and reading. A relatively large percentage of employed Washington County residents do not currently work in the County and are likely accessing services elsewhere. Transportation within the County is a major issue and concern for a high percentage of households that are under -resourced, a portion of the senior population, and teens. According to Metropolitan Council reports, expanded public transportation is needed along 1-94 to Woodbury and beyond, south toward Cottage Grove and Hastings (across the border in Dakota County), along Highway 36 to Stillwater, and north parallel to 1-35E to Hugo and Forest Lake. Community Survey Under Library Strategies' guidance, Rainbow Research conducted an independent, confidential, random sample survey of 1,500 residents of Washington County regarding Library service, both current and projected into the future. The margin of error for the survey was + or — 2.5%. The primary findings from the survey report were: The survey responses were weighted toward people 40 and older, so while still valid, it should be noted that service to children and young adults is probably under- represented in the results. The Stafford Library in Woodbury is the most popular library for respondents. Other heavily used libraries, in order, were Park Grove in Cottage Grove, Hardwood Creek in Forest Lake, Stillwater Public, Oakdale and Wildwood. The Library is used first and foremost on-site for physical resources (i.e., checking out books), as well as remotely for many resources, and on-site for meetings or space. Use of the Library for courses or education, and for technical resources showed lower use. Patterns of use were surprisingly similar for all age groups, except the 75 and older population. The Library is used at least every other month by 64% of respondents. Nearly 25% of respondents also use another public library outside of Washington County— a particularly high figure. Respondents show a high satisfaction level with all current services, and 75% strongly agree that they feel welcomed at the Library. The highest use of the Library remains checking out books, followed by browsing collections, getting help from a librarian, and checking out DVDs or CDs.