In the planning stages for any library, a careful study of the library's service demographics is essential. Demographic data collection will aid the planning process by providing information required to formulate policy, select materials, and evaluate the collection. In essence, it is clear that an effective library program grows out of an understanding of the community it serves.
In the following study, a medium-sized public library in Palm Springs, California, will be examined. Palm Springs Public Library has served a growing community in its present location for approximately thirty years. The present facility was just expanded and renovated, thanks to a wealthy patron's grant. The library houses administrative and technical processing services, and exists as an independent city library, i.e., it is not part of a larger county-wide system. The library houses at least 300,000 books, 8,000 videocassettes, 800 audiocassettes, 800 audio CD titles, 200 magazines, 10 IBM-based patron access search stations, 10 computers (with Windows 95) for patron use, and numerous networked CD-ROM disks available to patrons from a main menu. The library's catalog is also available at home, via modem. This is a tremendous time-saver, because one can choose materials before arriving at the library.
Computers, software, and audiovisual materials are expensive, and P.S.P.L.'s provision of these services to its users is essential if the library is to truly represent the community. It could be argued that the library's natural users--"those people who seek it out regularly, and, in a number of user studies, have been characterized as tending to be younger adults, better educated, and working in the professions or business" (Weingand 32)--probably have their own home computers; however, libraries must proactively reach out to all segments of the community. Despite huge gaps between the rich and the poor in Palm Springs, the fact remains that ...