Online visits to large public libraries in Australia: a comparison

The Searchers project examines the strategic challenges for major public libraries presented by the on-line information environment. The project has three components: research on current information-seeking and the role of public libraries in online information provision, analysis of wider developments in online environments and search models, and evaluation of the policy and strategic implications for public libraries highlighted by the research. The project will provide guidance for the State Library of Victoria in developing appropriate models of information provision and contribute new thinking on the role and position of major libraries in the digital age. This report contributes to the research on current information-seeking. It uses data from Hitwise to compare the type and number of visitors to the websites of the State Library of Victoria (SLV) with the type and number of visitors to the websites of the National Library of Australia (NLA) and the State Library of Queensland (SLQ). Specifically, this report compares the following three aspects of visits to the websites: the physical location of online visitors, the lifestyle characteristics of online visitors, and the frequency of online visits.