• Introduction
• Governance
• Allied and Other Special Operations
• Electronic Services and Information
• Library Development Services
• Service Outlets
• Collections
• Staff
• Income
• Expenditures
• Public Policy Issues

The state library agencies of the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Maryland are different from the other state libraries in a variety of ways. They are administrative offices without a separate state library collection. In the District of Columbia, which is treated as a state for reporting purposes, the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, the central library of the District of Columbia Public Library, functions as a resource center for the municipal government. In Hawaii, the state library is located in the Hawaii State Public Library System. State law designates Enoch Pratt Free Library's central library as the Maryland State Library Resource Center. These collections are reported on the NCES Public Libraries Survey (PLS) and thus are not reported on the StLA Survey, to avoid duplication.

The state library agencies of the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Maryland administer LSTA funds and report LSTA revenues and expenditures in this report. In order to eliminate duplicative reporting, state funds for aid to libraries for the District of Columbia and Hawaii state library agencies are reported on the PLS, rather than on the StLA Survey, because of the unique situation of these two state agencies.

The District of Columbia and Maryland state library agencies administer and staff the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH). The Library of Congress owns the LBPH collections.

The survey asks each state library agency about the kinds of services it provides, its staffing practices, its collections, its income and expenditures, and more. The data include services and financial assistance provided to public, academic, and school libraries, and to library systems. When added to the data collected through the NCES surveys of public, academic, and school libraries,² these data help complete the national picture of library service.

The StLA Survey is conducted in compliance with the NCES mission "to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistics and other information related to education in the United States and in other nations, including . . . the learning and teaching environment, including data on libraries . . ." (P.L. 103–382, Title IV, National Education Statistics Act of 1994, Sec. 404 [a]).

The remainder of this article presents highlights of the StLA Survey results for FY 2002.

• Nearly all state library agencies (48 states and the District of Columbia) are located in the executive branch of government. In two states (Arizona and Tennessee), the state library agency is located in the legislative branch. Sixteen state libraries are independent agencies within the executive branch.
• Of the state library agencies located in the executive branch, approximately two-thirds (33 states) are part of a larger agency.
• The state libraries of Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and North Carolina are part of the Department of Cultural Resources. The Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, and Washington state library agencies are part of their Department of State. In 12 states, the agency is located in the Department of Education.

• Allied operations are those for which state libraries provide services not ordinarily considered a state library agency function. These special operations may include maintaining state archives, managing state records, conducting legislative research for the state, or operating a museum or art gallery.
• Fifteen state library agencies reported having one or more allied operations.
• State library agencies in 15 states contracted with public or academic libraries in their states to serve as state resource centers or reference/information service centers. State library agencies in 27 states hosted or provided funding for a State Center for the Book.
• In nine states (Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia), state library agencies serve as the state archives and provide state records management services. The Tennessee state library agency also serves as the state archives, and the Kansas state library agency manages the state records. In four states (Arizona, California, Kansas, and Oklahoma), state library agencies serve as the primary state legislative research organization. The state history museum or art gallery is an allied operation of the Alaska, Arizona, and Connecticut state library agencies.
• Thirteen state library agencies reported expenditures for allied operations. These expenditures totaled $24.2 million. Of states reporting such expenditures, Virginia reported the highest expenditure ($4.7 million) and West Virginia reported the lowest ($3,000). The StLA Survey requests information about state library expenditures for allied operations. The Alaska and New Hampshire state library agencies have allied operations, but expenditures for those operations are not from the state library agency budget.

• Most state library agencies (46 states and the District of Columbia) planned or monitored the development of electronic networks. State library agencies in 38 states and the District of Columbia operated electronic networks. State library agencies in 46 states and the District of Columbia supported the development of bibliographic databases via electronic networks, and state library agencies in 45 states and the District of Columbia supported the development of full-text or data files via electronic networks.³
• All 50 states provided or facilitated library access to online databases through subscription, lease, license, consortial membership, or agreement.
• With the exceptions of Idaho and Washington, all state library agencies facilitated or subsidized electronic access to a union list, a list of titles of works, usually periodicals, in physically separate library collections. The union list includes location data that indicate libraries in which a given item may be found in the holdings of other libraries in the state. Most state library agencies provided access to the holdings of other libraries in the state via a web-based union list (47 agencies). Twenty-one state libraries offered union list access via a Telnet gateway. Seven state libraries provided access on CD-ROMs, and 12 states provided electronic access to the union list in some other way.
• Forty-seven state library agencies reported combined expenditures for statewide database licensing, for a total of $53.2 million. Of these states, Texas had the highest expenditure ($9.2 million) among states that reported expenditures for statewide database licensing, while three states (Alaska, North Dakota, and Rhode Island) spent less than $20,000. All state library agencies with such expenditures provided statewide database licensing services to public libraries in their states. At least two-thirds of state library agencies provided statewide database licensing services to the following user groups: academic, school, and special libraries; and other state agencies.
• For 10 state library agencies, 100 percent of their statewide database licensing expenditures came from federal sources. State funds accounted for 100 percent of 14 agencies' statewide database licensing expenditures.

• All state library agencies facilitated library access to the Internet in one or more of the following ways: providing Internet training or consulting to state or local library staff or state library end users; providing a subsidy to libraries for Internet participation; providing equipment to libraries to access the Internet; providing access to directories, databases, or online catalogs; and managing gopher/websites, file servers, bulletin boards, or listservs.
• Nearly all state library agencies (48 states) had Internet workstations available for public use, ranging in number from 1 to 4 (12 agencies); 5 to 9 (16 agencies); 10 to 19 (10 agencies); 20 to 29 (4 agencies); 30 to 39 (3 agencies); and 40 or more (3 agencies). Louisiana reported the largest number of public-use Internet terminals (49). Of 48 state libraries' Internet workstations that were available for public use, 567 were owned by the state library agency and 63 were placed in the library by other agencies or groups.
• The fastest Internet connection at most state libraries is the T1 line at 27 library agencies, followed by library agencies in 15 states and the District of Columbia accessing the Internet using T3 lines. The fastest Internet connections in the Arizona, Idaho, and Oklahoma state libraries operate at 100 million bits per second (mbps). The Arkansas state library's fastest connection transmits data at 90–135 mbps, and New Mexico's state library is connected to the Internet at a speed of 10 mbps. The Pennsylvania state library agency's fastest Internet connection uses DS-3 lines, which transmit at 5–10 mbps.
• State library agencies for 32 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Universal Service (E-rate discount) program established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104–104).⁴

• Public libraries serve all residents of a given community, district, or region and typically receive financial support, in whole or part, from public funds.
• All state library agencies provided the following types of services to public libraries: administration of LSTA grants; collection of library statistics; continuing education programs; and library planning, evaluation, and research. Nearly all state library agencies (47 to 50 agencies) provided consulting services, interlibrary loan referral services, library legislation preparation or review, and review of technology plans for the E-rate discount program.
• Services to public libraries provided by 40 to 45 state library agencies include administration of state aid, literacy program support, reference referral services, state standards or guidelines, statewide public relations or library promotion campaigns, and summer reading program support. Two-thirds of state library agencies (34 agencies) provided union list development.
• Thirteen state library agencies reported accreditation of public libraries, and 24 state library agencies reported certification of public librarians.

• Academic libraries are integral parts of colleges, universities, or other academic institutions for postsecondary education, organized and administered to meet the needs of students, faculty, and affiliated staff.
• Over two-thirds of state library agencies (36 to 43 agencies) provided the following services to academic libraries: administration of LSTA grants, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral services, and reference referral services. The state library agencies for California, Illinois, Montana, and New York administered state aid to academic libraries.
• Thirty-one state library agencies provided consulting services, agencies in 26 states and the District of Columbia provided union list development, and agencies in 23 states and the District of Columbia provided statewide public relations/library promotion campaigns to academic libraries.
• No state library agency accredits academic libraries. The state library agencies in Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Washington reported certification of academic librarians.

• School library media centers (LMCs) are integral parts of the educational program of elementary and secondary schools, with materials and services that meet the curricular, informational, and recreational needs of students, teachers, and administrators.
• At least two-thirds of state library agencies (34 to 42) provided administration of LSTA grants, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral services, or reference referral services to LMCs.
• Thirty-one agencies provided consulting services, and 25 agencies provided library planning/evaluation research or statewide public relations/library promotions campaigns to LMCs.
• The state library agencies for California, Colorado, Illinois, and Montana administered state aid to school LMCs.
• No state library agency reported accreditation of school LMCs, but Indiana and Massachusetts reported certification of library media specialists.

• Special libraries are located in business firms, professional associations, government agencies, or other organized groups. A special library may be maintained by a parent organization to serve a specialized clientele; or an independent library may provide materials or services, or both, to the public, a segment of the public, or other libraries. Special libraries include libraries in state institutions. The scope of special library collections and services is limited to the subject interests of the host or parent institution. Over two-thirds of state library agencies (38 to 44 agencies) served special libraries through administration of LSTA grants, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral, and reference referral services.
• Thirty-one state library agencies provided consulting services to special libraries, and 26 agencies provided union list development or library planning, evaluation, and research. Thirty-eight state agencies provided reference referral services to special libraries.
• The state library agencies for California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Washington administered state aid to special libraries.
• The Oklahoma state library agency accredits special libraries, and the library agencies for Indiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Washington reported certification of librarians of special libraries.

• Systems are groups of autonomous libraries joined together by formal or informal agreements to perform various services cooperatively, such as resource sharing or communications. Systems include multitype library systems and public library systems, but not multiple outlets under the same administration.
• Two-thirds of state library agencies administered LSTA grants to library systems.
• At least half of state library agencies (26 to 31 agencies) provided the following services to library systems: consulting services; continuing education; interlibrary loan referral; library legislation preparation or review; library planning; evaluation and research; administration of state aid; collection of library statistics; reference referral; and review of technology plans for the E-rate discount program.
• Six state library agencies reported library system accreditation, and seven agencies reported certification of librarians of library systems.

• State library service outlets have regular hours of service in which state library staff are present to serve users. The state library, as part of its regular operation, pays the staff and all service costs. The main or central outlet is a single-unit library where the principal collections are located and handled. Other outlets have separate quarters, a permanent basic collection of books and/or other materials, permanent paid staff, and a regular schedule of hours open to users. Bookmobiles are trucks or vans specially equipped to carry books and other library materials. They serve as traveling branch libraries.
• State library agencies reported a total of 137 service outlets—47 main or central outlets, 70 other outlets (excluding bookmobiles), and 20 bookmobiles. The user groups receiving library services through these outlets, and the number of outlets serving them, included the general public (99 outlets); state government employees (91 outlets); blind and physically handicapped individuals (57 outlets); residents of state correctional institutions (34 outlets); and residents of other state institutions (25 outlets).⁵

• The number of book and serial volumes held by state library agencies totaled 22.6 million. Two state library agencies each had book and serial collections of over 2 million volumes: New York had 2.5 million and Michigan had 2.3 million volumes. The number of book and serial volumes in the Connecticut, New Jersey, and Texas state libraries exceeded 1 million. The state library agencies for Hawaii, Maryland, and the District of Columbia do not maintain collections (see discussion in the Introduction to this article).
• Forty-one state library agencies held a total of 29.5 million uncatalogued government documents. The states with the largest collections of uncatalogued government documents were California (4.3 million) and Illinois (3.3 million). Three other state library agencies had collections that exceeded two million uncatalogued government documents: Arkansas (2.1 million), Ohio (2.5 million), and Oklahoma (2.6 million).

• The total number of budgeted full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions in state library agencies was 3,832. Librarians with American Library Association-accredited Master of Library Science degrees (ALA-MLS) accounted for 1,201 positions, or 31 percent of total FTE positions; other professionals accounted for 20 percent of total FTE positions; and other paid staff accounted for 49 percent. Rhode Island reported the largest percentage (63 percent) of ALA-MLS librarians, and Virginia reported the smallest (12 percent).
• Most of the budgeted FTE positions (55 percent) were in library services; 19 percent were in library development; 12 percent were in administration; and 15 percent were in other services,⁶ such as allied operations. Some two-thirds of the library development positions were for public library development.

• Sources of state library income or revenue are the federal government, the state government, and other sources, such as local, regional, or multijurisdictional sources. State library agencies may also receive income from private sources, such as foundations, corporations, Friends of Libraries groups, and individuals. State libraries may also generate revenue through fees for service or fines.
• State library agencies reported a total income or revenue of close to $1.2 billion in FY 2002. Most income was from state sources (84 percent), followed by federal sources (13 percent) and other sources (3 percent).⁸
• Federal income totaled approximately $150.0 million, with 95 percent, or $142.0 million, from LSTA grants.
• State library agency income from state sources totaled $971.1 million, with two-thirds ($648.0 million) designated for state aid to libraries.⁹ In 13 states, over 75 percent of the state library agency income from state sources was designated for state aid to libraries, with Massachusetts having the largest percentage (96 percent). Five states (Hawaii, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming) and the District of Columbia did not target state funds for aid to libraries.
• Three states (Hawaii, New Hampshire, and South Dakota) and the District of Columbia targeted 100 percent of their state income to state library agency operations.

• State library agencies reported total expenditures of over $1.1 billion in FY 2002. Over four-fifths (85 percent) of these expenditures were from state funds, followed by federal funds (13 percent) and funds from other sources (2 percent).
• The state library agencies with the highest total expenditures per capita were those for the District of Columbia, with $47.99; Hawaii, with $20.22; and Delaware, with $11.88. The agencies with total expenditures of less than $2 per capita were those for Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, and Washington.
• Operating expenditures are the current and recurrent costs necessary for the provision of services by the state library agencies. Operating expenditures include LSTA expenditures for statewide services conducted directly by the state library and administration of LSTA funds. Not included are LSTA expenditures for grants and other funds distributed to libraries. Seventy-five percent of state library operating expenditures are from state sources, and 22 percent are from federal sources.
• The state libraries with the highest per capita operating expenditures were Connecticut ($5.58), Alaska ($4.67), Vermont ($4.37), Wyoming ($3.56), and Montana and South Dakota ($3.40). Eighteen states reported total per capita operating expenditures under $1.00.
• Financial assistance to libraries accounted for 70 percent of total expenditures of state library agencies. Fifty-one percent of such expenditures were targeted to individual public libraries, and 21 percent went to public library systems.

• Thirty-six state library agencies had a combined total of $27.1 million in grant and contract expenditures to assist public libraries with state or federal education reform initiatives. The area of adult literacy and family literacy accounted for 87 percent of such expenditures, and prekindergarten learning accounted for 13 percent.

¹The State Center for the Book, which is part of the Center for the Book program sponsored by the Library of Congress, promotes books, reading, and literacy, and is hosted or funded by the state.

²The NCES Public Libraries Survey collects data from U.S. public libraries. The Academic Libraries Survey collects data from postsecondary institution libraries. The "School Library Media Center Questionnaire" of the NCES Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) collects data from elementary and secondary school library media centers.

³The development of bibliographic databases via electronic networks and the development of full-text or data files via electronic networks are both classified as "database development activities." These activities include the creation of new databases or files as well as the conversion of existing materials into electronic format.

⁴Under the E-rate discount program, the FCC promotes affordable access to the Internet and the availability of Internet services to the public, with special attention given to schools and libraries.

⁵The number of outlets by user group may not sum to total outlets because some outlets serve multiple user groups.

⁶This includes staff not reported under administration, library development, or library services, such as staff in allied operations.

⁷Income is referred to as revenue in other NCES fiscal surveys.

⁸Federal income includes State Program income under LSTA (P.L. 104–208), income from Title II of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) (P.L. 101–254), and other federal income. Note: LSCA was superseded by LSTA, but LSCA Title II funds are still active.

⁹State aid to libraries does not include funds used to administer the State Library Agency or to deliver statewide services to libraries or citizens where the service is administered directly by the StLA; state funds allocated for school library operations when the StLA is under the state education agency; or federal funds.