Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 420. Collections, staff, and operating expenditures of college and university libraries: 1976-77 to 1997-98

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                      Item                      |1976-77\1\ |1978-79\1\ |  1981-82  |  1984-85  |  1987-88  |  1991-92   |  1994-95  |  1996-97  |     1997-98
________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________
                       1                        |     2     |     3     |     4     |     5     |     6     |     7      |     8     |     9     |        10
________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________
Number of libraries ............................|     3,058 |     3,122 |     3,104 |     3,322 |     3,438 |      3,274 |     3,303 |     3,408 |         3,658
General collection transactions, in thousands ..|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |   183,123 |   186,545 |       175,409
Reserve collection transactions, in thousands ..|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |    48,380 |    44,189 |        40,658
Total enrollment, in thousands\2\ ..............|    11,121 |    11,392 |    12,372 |    12,242 |    12,767 |     14,359 |    14,279 |    14,300 |        14,502
Full-time-equivalent enrollment, in             |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
  thousands\2\ .................................|     8,313 |     8,348 |     9,015 |     8,952 |     9,230 |     10,361 |    10,348 |    10,402 |        10,217
                                                |===========|===========|===========|===========|===========|============|===========|===========|===============
        Collections, thousands of units         |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
                                                |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
Number of volumes at end of year ...............|   481,442 |   519,895 |   567,826 |   631,727 |   718,504 |    749,429 |   776,447 |   806,717 |\3\    878,906
Number of volumes added during year ............|    22,367 |    21,608 |    19,507 |    20,658 |    21,907 |     20,982 |    21,544 |    21,346 |        24,551
Number of serial subscriptions at end of year...|     4,670 |     4,775 |     4,890 |     6,317 |     6,416 |      6,966 |     6,212 |     5,709 |\4\     10,908
Microform units at end of year .................|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |     1,062,082
Electronic units at end of year\5\..............|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       465 |       983 |         3,473
                                                |===========|===========|===========|===========|===========|============|===========|===========|===============
 Library staff, in full-time equivalents (FTE)  |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
                                                |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
Total staff in regular positions\6\ ............|    57,087 |    58,416 |    58,476 |    58,476 |    67,251 |     67,166 |    67,433 |    67,581 |        68,337
FTE student enrollment per FTE staff ...........|     145.6 |     142.9 |     154.2 |     153.1 |     137.2 |      154.3 |     153.5 |     153.9 |         149.5
                                                |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________
  Librarians and professional staff ............|    23,308 |    23,676 |    23,816 |    21,822 |    25,115 |     26,341 |    26,726 |    27,268 |        30,041
  Other paid staff .............................|    33,779 |    34,740 |    34,660 |    38,026 |    40,733 |     40,421 |    40,381 |    40,022 |        38,026
  Contributed services .........................|       --- |       --- '       --- |       --- |     1,403 |        404 |       326 |       291 |           270
  Student assistants ...........................|       --- |       --- '       --- '       --- |    33,821 |     29,075 |    28,411 |    27,998 |        28,373
                                                |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
Hours of student and other assistance,          |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
 in thousands ..................................|    39,950 |    39,552 |    40,068 |    28,360 |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |           ---
                                                |===========|===========|===========|===========|===========|============|===========|===========|===============
        Library operating expenditures          |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
           (excluding capital outlay)           |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
                                                |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
Operating expenditures, total, in thousands ....|$1,259,637 |$1,502,158 |$1,943,769 |$2,404,524 |$2,770,075 | $3,648,654 |$4,013,333 |$4,301,815 |    $4,592,657
                                                |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________
  Salaries\7\ ..................................|   698,090 |   824,438 | 1,081,894 | 1,156,138 | 1,451,551 |  1,889,368 | 2,021,233 | 2,147,842 |     2,314,380
  Hourly wages .................................|    68,683 |    79,535 |   100,847 |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |           ---
  Fringe benefits ..............................|       --- |       --- |       --- |   231,209 |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |           ---
  Preservation .................................|    22,521 |    25,274 |    30,351 |    32,939 |    34,144 |     43,126 |    46,554 |    45,610 |        42,919
  Furniture/equipment ......................... |       --- |       --- '       --- |       --- '       --- |        --- |    55,915 |    56,128 |        57,013
  Computer hardware/software ...................|       --- |       --- '       --- '       --- '       --- '        --- |   128,128 |   157,949 |       164,379
  Utilities/networks/consortia .................|       --- |       --- '       --- '       --- '       --- '        --- |    81,106 |    85,113 |        89,618
  Information resources ........................|   373,699 |   450,180 |   561,199 |   750,282 |   891,281 |  1,197,293 | 1,348,933 | 1,499,249 |     1,600,995
    Books and serial backfiles- paper ..........|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |       514,048
    Books and serial backfiles- electronic .....|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |        28,061
    Current serials- paper ...................  |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |       849,399
    Current serials- electronic ................|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |       125,470
    Audiovisual materials ......................|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |     23,879 |    28,753 |    28,879 |        30,623
    Document delivery/interlibrary loan ........|       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |       --- |        --- |    12,238 |    17,645 |        19,309
    Other collection expenditures ..............|   373,699 |   450,180 |   561,199 |   750,282 |   891,281 |  1,173,414 | 1,307,942 | 1,452,725 |        34,086
  Other library operating expenditures .........|    96,643 |   122,731 |   169,478 |   233,957 |   393,099 |    518,867 |   331,463 |   309,925 |       323,354
Operating expenditures per FTE student .........|       152 |       180 |       216 |       269 |       300 |        352 |       388 |       414 |           450
Operating expenditures per FTE student in       |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
  constant 1997-98 dollars .....................|       418 |       425 |       371 |       411 |       419 |        412 |       417 |       421 |           450
                                                |===========|===========|===========|===========|===========|============|===========|===========|===============
Operating expenditures, total, in percents .....|     100.0 |     100.0 |     100.0 |     100.0 |     100.0 |      100.0 |     100.0 |     100.0 |         100.0
                                                |___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________
  Salaries\7\ ..................................|      55.4 |      54.9 |      55.7 |      48.1 |      52.4 |       51.8 |      50.4 |      49.9 |          50.4
  Hourly wages .................................|       5.5 |       5.3 |       5.2 |       --- |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |           ---
  Fringe benefits ..............................|       --- |       --- |       --- |       9.6 |       --- |        --- |       --- |       --- |           ---
  Preservation .................................|       1.8 |       1.7 |       1.6 |       1.4 |       1.2 |        1.2 |       1.2 |       1.1 |           0.9
  Information resources ........................|      29.7 |      30.0 |      28.9 |      31.2 |      32.2 |       32.8 |      33.6 |      34.9 |          34.9
  Other library operating expenditures\8\ ......|       7.7 |       8.2 |       8.7 |       9.7 |      14.2 |       14.2 |      14.9 |      14.2 |          13.8
                                                |===========|===========|===========|===========|===========|============|===========|===========|===============
Library operating expenditures as percent of    |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
  total institutional expenditures for          |           |           |           |           |           |            |           |           |
  educational and general purposes .............|       3.8 |       3.7 |       3.5 |       3.4 |       3.2 |        3.0 |       2.8 |       --- |           ---
________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|___________|___________|____________|___________|___________|_______________

---Not available.
\1\Includes data for U.S. territories.
\2\Fall enrollment for the academic year specified.

total of additions plus end of year value from previous year. \4\Includes microform and electronic serials. \5\Electronic files, formerly labeled "Computer files." \6\Excludes student assistants. \7\Includes expenditures for fringe benefits (except for 1984-85 and 1987-88), salary equivalents of contributed services staff, and hourly wages for 1996-97 and 1997-98. \8\Includes furniture/equipment, computer hardware/software, and utilities/networks/consortia as well as expenditures classified above as "other library operating expenditures."

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Library Statistics of Colleges and Universities, various years; and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Academic Library Survey," various years, and "Fall Enrollment Survey 1997." (This table was prepared July 2001.)


2002 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest