The Office of Commonwealth Libraries supports libraries’ role in workforce development. Xiaofeng Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at PennWest University is inviting library administrators and library staff to participate in a grant research project funded by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. The project is a survey entitled Connecting the Dots: Rural Public Libraries as Partners for Small Business and Rural Workforce Growth. The purpose of the study is to understand resources, programs, services, and partnerships that public libraries provide in supporting small business and workforce development. In this study, you will be asked to answer up to 19 survey questions. It is estimated that completing the survey will take about 12 minutes.
The study has no potential risks. As a token of appreciation, respondents who complete the survey will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of 15 $20 gift cards. Please note that entering the drawing is entirely voluntary and will not affect your ability to participate in the survey. Your response helps ensure that results are representative, and the conclusions reflect the views of librarians throughout the Commonwealth. Aggregated results will be shared with members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly who may use them to inform policy or funding.
This grant project is a nine-month project, and is published on the CRPA website: Current Grant Projects – Center for Rural PA. The project is approved by the PennWest IRB office (Proposal #PW22-133)
Please find the consent form before participating in the survey. For more information, please contact Principal Investigator, Xiaofeng Li, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Pennsylvania Western University, 814-393-2447, xli@pennwest.edu.
The survey link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/crpalibrarysurvey
The Bureau of Library Development appreciates your support of workforce development.
Stacey Mulligan, Bureau of Library Development Advisor for Workforce Development and Adult Services. smulligan@pa.gov or 717-783-5744.