WordsRated.com: State of U.S. Public Libraries

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Nick Rizzo from WordsRated.com has released a study of U.S. Public Libraries suggesting they are “more popular and digital than ever.” For this analysis, a team used the IMLS’s Public Libraries Survey (PLS) dataset. Data ran up to 2019. We may reasonably hypothesize that the intervening years have only heightened a trend that Nick has identified: the shift to digital is real, ongoing, and a vital indicator of library use and relevance.

Read the report here.

Here are the Key Findings:

Why people think “libraries are dying”

  • Visits to libraries in a 10-year decline (21.20% since 2009) while people borrow fewer books (19.21% less than 2013).

Libraries are more popular than ever thanks to the strong shift to digital:

  • More registered borrowers than ever (174.23 million, or 53.57% of population)

  • Total library collection size is larger and more digital than ever (58.75% of collection)

  • Library collection use is higher and more digital than ever (37.39% of all collection use)

More library programs (6 million) and higher program attendance (125 million) than ever:

  • Library program attendance now accounts for 10.01% of all visits to libraries, up 84% from 2009

  • States with the most programs per capita have more visits (88.25%), collection use (51.31%), and registered borrowers (12.21%) than states with least programs per capita

It’s never been more expensive to operate a library 

  • Average operating expenses per library is $765,715 up more than 17.00% since 2014

  • Libraries costs are more administrative than ever – 89.18% spent on staff and other expenses vs only 10.82% on library collections

Government funding hasn’t covered library operating expenses since 1992

  • Libraries would be in a $4.38 billion deficit if relying on government funding alone

  • Other Income from donations, grants, fines, and fees addressed budget deficits and helped generate a $17.05 billion budget surplus

  • Highest-funded states per capita have more visits (80.99%), collection use (122.49%), programs (73.31%), and program attendance (81.76%) than the lowest-funded states

  • There’s never been more libraries (17,468) or librarians (51,190), but library staff are still paid 35.07% below a livable wage for a family of three on average

It is axiomatic that public investing in libraries returns many benefits—benefits that can be quantified at many more $$ returned than spent. Thanks, Nick, for sharing your report!