Skip Navigation
small NCES header image
Table 418. Selected statistics on public school libraries/media centers, by level and enrollment size of school: 1999-2000

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                        |        Public|                                                                     |
Selected                                |   elementary,|              Elementary libraries, by enrollment size of school     |              Secondary libraries, by enrollment size of school
statistic                               |secondary, and|_____________________________________________________________________|_____________________________________________________________________
                                        |   combined\1\|        Total|Less than 150|   150 to 499|   500 to 749|  750 or more|        Total|Less than 500|   500 to 749| 750 to 1,499|1,500 or more
________________________________________|______________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________
1                                       |             2|            3|            4|            5|            6|            7|            8|            9|           10|           11|           12
________________________________________|______________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________
Average number of staff per library\1\  |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   Total ...............................|  1.89 (0.018)|  1.80(0.024)|  1.42(0.051)|  1.69(0.034)|  1.93(0.032)|  2.09(0.081)|  2.21(0.021)|  1.68(0.029)|  1.94(0.037)|  2.48(0.033)|  3.47(0.058)
                                        |______________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________
Certified library/media specialists ....|  0.81 (0.007)|  0.74(0.009)|  0.62(0.043)|  0.71(0.015)|  0.77(0.019)|  0.80(0.027)|  1.06(0.009)|  0.86(0.016)|  0.94(0.015)|  1.15(0.014)|  1.56(0.025)
  Full-time ............................|  0.65 (0.007)|  0.56(0.009)|  0.25(0.037)|  0.48(0.012)|  0.69(0.019)|  0.73(0.028)|  0.94(0.011)|  0.64(0.020)|  0.91(0.015)|  1.10(0.014)|  1.49(0.025)
  Part-time ............................|  0.16 (0.006)|  0.17(0.008)|  0.38(0.036)|  0.24(0.013)|  0.08(0.008)|  0.07(0.014)|  0.12(0.006)|  0.23(0.012)|  0.03(0.007)|  0.04(0.007)|  0.07(0.013)
Other professional staff ...............|  0.17 (0.007)|  0.18(0.009)|  0.11(0.019)|  0.16(0.012)|  0.19(0.015)|  0.22(0.031)|  0.15(0.007)|  0.15(0.012)|  0.14(0.021)|  0.14(0.014)|  0.18(0.023)
  Full-time ............................|  0.12 (0.005)|  0.12(0.007)|  0.04(0.010)|  0.10(0.009)|  0.14(0.012)|  0.18(0.026)|  0.10(0.007)|  0.10(0.012)|  0.09(0.014)|  0.11(0.013)|  0.13(0.018)
  Part-time ............................|  0.06 (0.004)|  0.06(0.006)|  0.07(0.015)|  0.06(0.007)|  0.05(0.009)|  0.04(0.017)|  0.05(0.005)|  0.05(0.008)|  0.05(0.014)|  0.04(0.007)|  0.05(0.011)
Other paid employees ...................|  0.91 (0.014)|  0.88(0.019)|  0.69(0.033)|  0.81(0.028)|  0.96(0.028)|  1.07(0.059)|  1.00(0.017)|  0.67(0.024)|  0.86(0.031)|  1.19(0.024)|  1.73(0.048)
  Full-time ............................|  0.49 (0.008)|  0.44(0.010)|  0.26(0.040)|  0.36(0.013)|  0.51(0.025)|  0.67(0.036)|  0.67(0.016)|  0.36(0.020)|  0.52(0.031)|  0.85(0.026)|  1.35(0.037)
  Part-time ............................|  0.41 (0.014)|  0.44(0.018)|  0.42(0.035)|  0.45(0.028)|  0.45(0.029)|  0.40(0.049)|  0.33(0.013)|  0.31(0.022)|  0.33(0.026)|  0.34(0.018)|  0.38(0.027)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Percentage of schools' library media    |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   centers with the following equipment |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
  Telephone ............................|  84.8  (0.53)|  82.8 (0.69)|  70.1 (4.18)|  77.4 (1.30)|  90.0 (1.16)|  92.4 (1.36)|  91.5 (0.46)|  82.5 (1.09)|  94.4 (0.91)|  98.3 (0.35)|  99.6 (0.24)
  Fax machine ..........................|  11.5  (0.43)|   8.1 (0.55)|   6.6 (1.67)|   6.7 (0.67)|   9.7 (1.00)|  10.6 (1.40)|  22.2 (0.65)|  14.2 (1.24)|  22.4 (1.81)|  26.8 (1.28)|  35.1 (2.18)
  Automated catalog ....................|  72.8  (0.69)|  71.0 (0.87)|  47.5 (4.43)|  65.4 (1.28)|  80.7 (1.41)|  81.4 (1.68)|  80.0 (0.78)|  66.6 (1.56)|  84.0 (1.52)|  89.6 (1.06)|  93.5 (1.30)
  Automated circulation system .........|  74.4  (0.65)|  73.2 (0.88)|  45.6 (4.05)|  67.0 (1.38)|  83.7 (1.29)|  86.3 (1.66)|  79.9 (0.72)|  63.9 (1.59)|  85.5 (1.39)|  91.6 (0.81)|  95.1 (0.96)
  Video laser disc or DVD ..............|  43.0  (0.68)|  41.8 (0.87)|  25.0 (4.28)|  36.1 (1.17)|  49.0 (2.06)|  54.3 (2.35)|  47.7 (0.88)|  34.3 (1.53)|  49.3 (2.05)|  60.7 (1.68)|  58.6 (2.02)
  Connection to Internet ...............|  90.1  (0.57)|  87.9 (0.75)|  83.9 (3.47)|  86.9 (1.10)|  90.7 (1.41)|  87.7 (1.57)|  96.9 (0.32)|  95.8 (0.55)|  96.0 (0.91)|  98.6 (0.34)|  97.8 (0.61)
  Cable television .....................|  77.4  (0.66)|  76.6 (0.83)|  56.8 (3.55)|  77.4 (1.19)|  78.4 (1.66)|  79.5 (2.02)|  82.2 (0.66)|  77.0 (1.35)|  83.2 (1.48)|  87.3 (1.18)|  85.6 (1.78)
  Broadcast television .................|  43.4  (0.76)|  43.9 (1.00)|  29.5 (3.59)|  41.7 (1.47)|  46.9 (1.93)|  51.8 (2.40)|  42.9 (0.90)|  34.8 (1.36)|  43.8 (2.43)|  49.0 (1.42)|  52.1 (1.74)
  Closed circuit television ............|  25.0  (0.67)|  23.3 (0.84)|   5.4 (1.95)|  18.5 (0.96)|  27.3 (1.90)|  39.8 (2.13)|  30.8 (0.82)|  20.2 (1.56)|  29.5 (1.74)|  40.7 (1.32)|  42.4 (1.91)
  Satellite dish .......................|  27.9  (0.60)|  20.5 (0.71)|  36.9 (5.09)|  17.6 (1.08)|  20.0 (1.37)|  23.5 (1.96)|  49.9 (0.93)|  50.9 (1.76)|  53.6 (2.16)|  49.5 (1.69)|  43.6 (2.08)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Percentage of schools where-            |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
  Long distance learning offered .......|  21.2  (0.48)|  15.2 (0.61)|  23.2 (4.25)|  14.3 (0.81)|  13.7 (1.14)|  17.4 (1.61)|  38.1 (0.79)|  45.7 (1.52)|  36.0 (2.35)|  31.5 (1.27)|  32.3 (2.06)
  Students permitted to check out       |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
     computer hardware .................|   2.2  (0.14)|   1.2 (0.16)|   0.7 (0.22)|   1.2 (0.23)|   1.6 (0.33)|   0.5 (0.19)|   5.5 (0.41)|   6.1 (0.73)|   3.6 (0.78)|   5.0 (0.62)|   6.9 (1.20)
  Students permitted to check out       |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
     computer software .................|   6.9  (0.31)|   4.5 (0.36)|   8.4 (2.22)|   4.4 (0.54)|   4.5 (0.67)|   3.3 (0.79)|  14.3 (0.69)|  13.8 (1.28)|  12.4 (1.22)|  15.2 (1.22)|  16.2 (1.64)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Total students using library per 100    |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   students each week\1,2\ .............|  94.9  (0.88)| 106.6 (1.12)| 202.2(20.53)| 121.9 (1.82)| 109.0 (1.96)|  80.6 (1.76)|  73.4 (1.05)| 119.0 (3.71)|  80.4 (2.44)|  69.6 (1.74)|  59.9 (1.78)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Books checked out per 100 students      |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   each week\2\ ........................| 106.6  (1.63)| 146.8 (2.46)| 273.6(28.68)| 175.3 (4.55)| 152.6 (3.89)|  99.2 (2.95)|  32.3 (1.36)|  76.0 (3.99)|  39.8 (3.31)|  25.6 (1.40)|  21.7 (2.67)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Average holdings per 100 students at the|              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   end of the 1999-2000 school year     |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
  Books (number of volumes) ............| 1,803  (19.7)| 1,894 (26.6)| 5,806(416.1)| 2,379 (46.4)| 1,742 (30.9)| 1,323 (51.2)| 1,606 (25.8)| 3,550(137.1)| 1,958 (88.2)| 1,415 (39.4)| 1,038 (32.1)
  Video materials (tape and disc) ......|    51   (0.8)|    51  (1.1)|   132 (22.0)|    59  (1.9)|    48  (1.8)|    41  (2.1)|    51  (1.0)|   103  (6.2)|    54  (3.2)|    45  (1.5)|    38  (2.2)
  CD-ROM titles ........................|     8   (0.3)|    10  (0.5)|    30  (6.0)|    12  (0.6)|     9  (0.4)|     7  (1.5)|     5  (0.3)|    13  (0.9)|     6  (0.8)|     5  (0.8)|     2  (0.2)
                                        |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
Expenditures (all sources) per          |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
   student, 1999-2000\1\                |              |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |             |
  Total, library/media materials .......|$23.37 (0.438)|$22.99(0.634)|$68.71(7.689)|$24.88(0.869)|$21.07(0.792)|$20.98(1.823)|$23.84(0.461)|$42.15(1.859)|$29.88(1.654)|$21.31(0.535)|$18.20(0.617)
Books ..................................|  9.97 (0.153)| 10.47(0.229)| 25.13(2.305)| 11.32(0.286)| 10.09(0.430)|  9.26(0.559)|  8.95(0.174)| 14.89(0.668)| 10.68(0.557)|  8.19(0.259)|  7.16(0.309)
Video materials ........................|  1.07 (0.022)|  1.04(0.029)|  2.31(0.550)|  1.12(0.046)|  0.98(0.035)|  0.97(0.067)|  1.13(0.025)|  2.04(0.117)|  1.25(0.081)|  1.03(0.042)|  0.89(0.039)
CD-ROM titles ..........................|  0.59 (0.020)|  0.55(0.028)|  1.92(0.462)|  0.66(0.048)|  0.55(0.045)|  0.36(0.040)|  0.64(0.023)|  1.02(0.062)|  0.74(0.059)|  0.68(0.050)|  0.46(0.034)
Current serial subscriptions ...........|  1.26 (0.016)|  0.98(0.018)|  3.67(0.528)|  1.20(0.030)|  0.87(0.027)|  0.71(0.048)|  1.75(0.032)|  3.91(0.144)|  2.30(0.111)|  1.57(0.040)|  1.04(0.034)
Electronic subscriptions ...............|  0.81 (0.018)|  0.32(0.023)|  0.73(0.229)|  0.34(0.041)|  0.30(0.037)|  0.30(0.043)|  1.74(0.042)|  2.00(0.116)|  1.92(0.130)|  1.79(0.080)|  1.56(0.062)
Microcomputer hardware .................|  7.48 (0.306)|  7.31(0.390)| 30.98(5.900)|  7.77(0.715)|  6.71(0.537)|  6.39(0.900)|  7.68(0.373)| 14.94(1.682)| 10.71(0.480)|  6.15(0.320)|  5.70(0.439)
Other audiovisual equipment ............|  2.19 (0.181)|  2.32(0.274)|  3.97(1.202)|  2.48(0.324)|  1.59(0.102)|  2.98(0.778)|  1.94(0.071)|  3.35(0.214)|  2.28(0.144)|  1.90(0.104)|  1.40(0.094)
________________________________________|______________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________|_____________

\1\Public school data include charter schools.
\2\During the most recent full week of school.

NOTE: Percentages are based on schools that have library/media centers. Standard errors appear in parentheses. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), "Public School Library Media Center Questionnaire," 1999-2000; and "Public Charter School Questionnaire," 1999-2000, unpublished data. (This table was prepared August 2004).

Would you like to help us improve our products and website by taking a short survey?

YES, I would like to take the survey

or

No Thanks

The survey consists of a few short questions and takes less than one minute to complete.