The Role of Public Libraries in the Development of Smart Cities and Communities: Results from a National Local Government Survey
Abstract
This report summarizes the results of a national survey of local governments that aimed to understand their perceptions of smart cities and communities, notably the role of public libraries in the development of smart communities as well as the benefits, costs, challenges, success factors and expected future contribution of public libraries to the development of smart communities.
This survey is part of the Center for Technology in Government’s (CTG UAlbany) research project, "Enabling Smart, Inclusive, and Connected Communities: The Role of Public Libraries," implemented in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA)'s Center for the Future of Libraries and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Grant No. LG-96-17-0144-17).
The survey explores how local governments understand the concept of smart city/community and their perceptions of the present and future contribution of public libraries to the development of smart communities.
It was designed based on a review of existing literature, a current practice report and four case studies conducted by the CTG UAlbany research team. This report summarizes the responses of 167 local government professionals who participated in our survey in 2020.