Impact Survey Results
The Impact Survey is the result of a successful research initiative from the University of Washington with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2009, the University of Washington Information School conducted Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, which was the first large-scale investigation of the ways U.S. library patrons use computers and the Internet at public libraries, why they use it, and how it impacts their lives. The study included a national online survey that yielded over 45,000 responses and four library case studies. It also piloted a local library survey for individual communities. Because the patron survey was such a success, the University of Washington Information School has extended the benefits of the Opportunity for All web survey by making the tested and validated survey available to all U.S. public libraries. Now public libraries can conduct their own Impact Survey at their library at any time.