Table 17. Number of items in library collections and the number of times items are in circulation at Title IV degree-granting institutions, by level and control of institution, and type of library collection or circulation: United States, fiscal year 2021 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of library collection or circulation | All institutions | 4-year | 2-year | ||||||
Public | Private | Public | Private | ||||||
Nonprofit | For-profit | Nonprofit | For-profit | ||||||
Total library collections | 3,516,362,076 | 1,224,854,035 | 1,322,372,003 | 96,097,979 | 579,360,959 | 24,560,598 | 269,116,502 | ||
Physical library collections (books, media, and serials) |
892,287,113 | 513,987,476 | 338,899,693 | 1,915,285 | 36,615,578 | 387,252 | 481,829 | ||
Physical books | 714,729,751 | 395,758,193 | 282,941,275 | 1,548,076 | 33,719,285 | 344,318 | 418,604 | ||
Physical media | 155,534,083 | 104,111,386 | 48,502,829 | 280,122 | 2,569,602 | 32,684 | 37,460 | ||
Physical serials | 22,023,279 | 14,117,897 | 7,455,589 | 87,087 | 326,691 | 10,250 | 25,765 | ||
Digital/electronic library collections (books, databases, media, and serials) |
2,624,074,963 | 710,866,559 | 983,472,310 | 94,182,694 | 542,745,381 | 24,173,346 | 268,634,673 | ||
Digital/electronic books | 1,365,400,614 | 469,959,122 | 549,560,416 | 63,777,528 | 194,265,585 | 5,874,731 | 81,963,232 | ||
Databases | 2,120,595 | 1,113,467 | 485,438 | 41,670 | 125,703 | 93,957 | 260,360 | ||
Digital/electronic media | 666,622,298 | 156,633,440 | 184,048,321 | 21,194,415 | 218,469,364 | 17,363,509 | 68,913,249 | ||
Digital/electronic serials | 589,931,456 | 83,160,530 | 249,378,135 | 9,169,081 | 129,884,729 | 841,149 | 117,497,832 | ||
Total library circulations | 1,079,023,501 | 484,018,587 | 310,305,590 | 62,635,502 | 203,098,010 | 1,232,405 | 17,733,407 | ||
Physical library circulations1 (books, media, and serials) | 13,407,522 | 5,351,897 | 6,581,967 | 144,975 | 1,273,837 | 19,006 | 35,840 | ||
Digital/electronic circulations2 (books, databases, media, and serials) | 1,065,615,979 | 478,666,690 | 303,723,623 | 62,490,527 | 201,824,173 | 1,213,399 | 17,697,567 |
1Physical library circulation is defined as usage of physical books, media, or serials whether viewed within the library or at an off-site location.
2Digital/electronic circulation is defined as usage of digital/electronic titles whether viewed, downloaded, or streamed.
NOTE: Title IV institutions are those with a written agreement with the U.S. Department of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs. United States includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are not Title IV eligible but are included in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) universe because they are federally funded and open to the public; they are included in this table. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is Title IV eligible and is also included in this table. Definitions for terms used in this table may be found in the collection year's archived downloadable glossary located at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data/annual-survey-forms-packages-archived?year=2021.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS, Spring 2022, Academic Libraries component (final data).