• Number of Academic Libraries
• Services
• Collections
• Staff
• Expenditures

The data in this report cover academic libraries in 2-year and 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States. The tables summarize library services (including electronic services), library staff, library collections, and library expenditures for libraries in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Library staff data are for fall 1998. Operating expenditures and library collections data are for fiscal year (FY) 1998. Data on library circulation and interlibrary loans are for FY 98, and data on other library services are for a typical week in the fall of 1998. FY 98 is defined as any 12-month period between July 1, 1997, and September 30, 1998, that corresponds to the institution's fiscal year.

In fall 1998, 3,658 of the 4,141 2-year and 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States reported that they had their own academic library. Of these 3,658 academic libraries, 97 percent responded to the survey.

In FY 98, general collection circulation transactions in the nation's academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions totaled 175.4 million. Reserve collection circulation transactions totaled 40.7 million.

In FY 98, academic libraries provided a total of about 9.2 million interlibrary loans to other libraries (both academic libraries and other types of libraries) and received about 7.7 million loans.

Overall, the largest percentage of academic libraries (42 percent) reported having 60–79 hours of public service per typical week. However, 38 percent provided 80 or more service hours per typical week during the academic year. The percentage of institutions providing 80 or more public service hours ranged from 6 percent in less-than-4-year institutions to 75 percent in doctorate-granting institutions. Twenty libraries reported that they were open 168 hours a week, or 24 hours 7 days a week.

In FY 98, 84 percent of degree-granting postsecondary institutions with an academic library had access from within the library to an electronic catalog of the library's holdings, 95 percent had Internet access within the library, and 54 percent had library reference service by e-mail both within the library and elsewhere on campus. Just under one-third (30 percent) had electronic document delivery by the library to a patron's account or address from within the library. Ninety-two percent had instruction by library staff on the use of Internet resources within the library.

In FY 98, 44 percent of academic libraries had technology within the library to assist persons with disabilities and 34 percent had access to this service from elsewhere on campus. Sixty-five percent provided services to distance education students.

Almost three-fourths (71 percent) of academic libraries had computers not dedicated to library functions for patron use inside the library. Fewer institutions with an academic library (12 percent) had video/desktop conferencing by or for the library accessible within the library, and 19 percent had access from elsewhere on campus. Seventeen percent had satellite broadcasting by or for the library accessible within the library, and 23 percent had access from elsewhere on campus.

• Taken together, academic libraries reported a gate count of about 16.2 million visitors per typical week (about 1.6 visits per full-time-equivalent [FTE] student enrolled).² 
• About 2.1 million reference transactions were reported in a typical week.
• Over FY 98, about 438,000 presentations to groups serving about 7.4 million persons were reported.

Taken together, the nation's 3,658 academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions held a total of 878.9 million paper volumes (books, bound serials, and government documents) at the end of FY 98.

Of the total paper volumes held at the end of the year, 43 percent (376.0 million) were held at the 125 institutions categorized under the Carnegie Classification as Research I or Research II institutions. About 55 percent of the volumes were at those institutions classified as either Research or Doctoral in the Carnegie Classification.

The median number of paper volumes held per FTE student was 53.7 volumes. Median volumes held ranged from 18.5 per FTE student in less-than-4-year institutions to 119.8 in doctorate-granting institutions.

In FY 98, the median number of paper volumes added to collections per FTE student was 1.5. The median number added ranged from .7 per FTE student in less-than-4-year institutions to 2.9 in doctorate-granting institutions.

A total of 96,709 FTE staff were working in academic libraries in fall 1998. Of these, 30,041 (31 percent) were librarians or other professional staff; 38,026 (39 percent) were other paid staff; 270 (less than one-half of 1 percent) were contributed services staff;³ and 28,373 (29 percent) were student assistants.

Excluding student assistants, the institutional median number of academic library FTE staff per 1,000 FTE students was 5.6. The median ranged from 3.6 in less-than-4-year institutions to 9.1 in doctorate-granting institutions.

In FY 98, expenditures for libraries at the 3,658 degree-granting postsecondary institutions totaled $4.6 billion. The three largest expenditure items for all academic libraries were salaries and wages, $2.3 billion (50 percent); current paper and electronic serial subscription expenditures, $974.9 million (21 percent); and paper books and bound serials, $514.0 million (11 percent).

The libraries of the 570 doctorate-granting institutions (16 percent of the total institutions) accounted for $2.9 billion, or 64 percent of the total expenditure dollars at all academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions.

In FY 98, the median total for operating expenditures per FTE student was $301.25, and the median for information resource expenditures per FTE student was $84.98.