IC Submission Template

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL UNDER THE
“GENERIC INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN FOR QUALITATIVE CONSUMER
EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION
COLLECTIONS”
(OMB Control Number: 3170-0036)
1. TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: CFPB Libraries Survey/Participating Libraries
2. PURPOSE: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 established the
CFPB’s Office of Financial Education (OFE) to develop and launch initiatives that will educate American
consumers and help them make better-informed financial decisions.

Since July 2014, the OFE has been promoting financial education in libraries – primarily public
libraries, but also law libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries – as a way to provide greater
access to financial information to the American public. This initiative was founded on five key
strategies derived from intensive coordination with nine public libraries across the country and a survey
of more than 700 patrons and library staff. These strategies are:
•
•
•
•
•

To provide participating libraries with financial education program ideas, resources and tools.
To help libraries connect with local partners.
To share financial education best practices among participating libraries.
To provide materials that promote using the library to research financial questions, resolve
problems, and learn more about money.
To train library staff on fundamental personal finance topics and information to help raise
knowledge levels and increase confidence when teaching or providing assistance on money
matters.

From the nine partner libraries in July 2014, the program has grown to include more than 2,400
libraries across the country. To date, CFPB has provided libraries with online resources, free print
materials, librarian training, outreach materials, and a guidebook for partnering with local organizations.
It is important to determine how these resources are being used and their impact on libraries.
In 2018, a web-based survey was sent to the libraries in the CFPB’s program to assess activity and inform
the strategic direction going forward. Two focus groups were also conducted to get information about the
challenges and opportunities in incorporating a financial education component in rural/suburban and
urban libraries.
The purpose of this project is to get feedback from participating libraries that are in the CFPB Library
Program about their experiences in providing financial education to their patrons and to identify ways that
the CFPB Library Program can continue to address their needs. As a follow-up to the 2018 survey, this
project will provide a means of comparison to the 2018 Library Survey results to monitor the usability,
effectiveness, and satisfaction with the CFPB Library Program’s resources and tools and provide insights
on new tools or programs that could be developed to better serve these libraries. Focus groups will also
be conducted to get more details about issues and trends identified in the surveys.
The feedback results will provide input into the continued development of OFE’s financial education
program for libraries.

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3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: This survey will be conducted using 13 questions
that are a subset of the set of questions approved by OMB for the 2018 Library Survey. This
survey will be conducted with libraries that are in the CFPB Library database (“participants”),
approximately 2,500 libraries. Focus groups will also be conducted using the OMB-approved
focus group questions.
4. TYPE OF COLLECTION (ADMINISTRATION OF THE COLLECTION
INSTRUMENT):
a.

How will you collect the information? Check all that apply.
[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] Telephone
[ ] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[X] Focus Group
[ ] Other (please explain) __________________________________

b.

Will interviewers or facilitators be used?
[X] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable

5. FOCUS GROUP OR SURVEY:
If you plan to conduct a focus group or survey, please provide answers to the following
questions:
a. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential
respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[X] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable
c.

If yes, please provide a description below. If no, please provide a description of how
you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them.

The CFPB maintains a list of about 2,500 librarians—“participants”--who have participated or
expressed interest in the CFPB libraries program; this list is contained in the CFPB libraries
program database. These participants will receive invitations to respond to the web survey
and/or engage in focus groups
6. INFORMATION COLLECTION PROCEDURES:
Please summarize the procedures that will be used to collect data from respondents.
CFPB will conduct a web-based survey of participating libraries that are included in the
CFPB libraries database. This survey will serve as a follow-up to the 2018 Libraries Survey
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and to monitor performance against baselines established in the 2018 Libraries Survey. It
will consist of 13 of the previously-approved questions that were included in the 2018
Library Survey. These questions were identified as being the most helpful to letting the
Bureau compare this year’s results with previous surveys. Focus group(s) may be conducted
to get more details around issues and trends identified in the survey.
7. PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:
a. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [ ] No
b. If yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the
Privacy Act of 1974?
[X] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable
c. Has a System or Records Notice (SORN) been published?
[X] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable
If yes, list the SORN title and Federal Register citation
Title: CFPB.021 - Consumer Education and Engagement Records _(83 FR 23435).
d. If applicable, what is the link to the Privacy Impact Assessment?
8. INCENTIVES:
a. Is an incentive provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No
b. If yes, provide a statement justifying the use and amount of the incentive and
the amount or value of the incentive: $___N/A___.
9. ASSURANCES OF CONFIDENTIALITY:
a. Will a pledge of confidentiality be made to respondents? [ ] Yes [X] No
b. If yes, please cite the statue, regulation, or contractual terms supporting the pledge.
N/A
10. JUSTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE QUESTIONS (if applicable): N/A

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11. BURDEN HOURS:

Collection of Information
Web-based survey for
participating libraries (13
questions
Focus groups
Totals

Number of
Respondent
s
500

Frequency

20
520

Number of
Responses

Response Time
(hours)

Burden
(hours)

1x

500

.12

60

1x
///////////////

20
520

.75
///////////////

15
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2,400 libraries who have participated in this program will be invited via email to take this survey.
Based on our previous experiences with this survey, we estimate that no more than about 20% or
500 of those invited will respond and take this survey.
12. FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $50,000.
13. CERTIFICATIONS:
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 5 CFR 1320.9, AND THE RELATED PROVISIONS OF
5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
(c) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology that is understandable to
respondents;
(d) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and
recordkeeping practices;
(e) It indicates the retention period for recordkeeping requirements;
(f) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
(g) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient
and effective management and use of the information to be collected;
(h) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology; and
(i) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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CERTIFICATION FOR INFORMATION COLLECTIONS SUBMITTED UNDER A GENERIC
INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
• The collection is voluntary.
• The collection is low-burden for respondents.
• The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other Federal
agencies.
• Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing
influential policy decisions.
• The collection is not statistically significant; the results are not intended to be
generalizable beyond the survey population.
• The results will not be used to measure regulatory compliance or for program
evaluation.

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