Appendix A.4. Institute of Museum and Library Statistics

On October 1, 2007, the administration of the Public Libraries Survey (PLS) and the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey was transferred from the National Center for Education Statistics to the Institute of Museum and Library Statistics (IMLS).

IMLS Library Statistics

Public library statistics are collected annually using the PLS and disseminated annually through the Federal-State Cooperative System (FSCS) for Public Library Data. Descriptive statistics are produced for over 9,000 public libraries. The PLS includes information about staffing; operating income and expenditures; type of governance; type of administrative structure; size of collection; and service measures such as reference transactions, public service hours, interlibrary loans, circulation, and library visits. In the FSCS, respondents supply the information electronically, and data are edited and tabulated in machine-readable form.

The respondents are public libraries identified in the 50 states and the District of Columbia by state library agencies. At the state level, FSCS is administered by State Data Coordinators, who are appointed by the Chief Officer of each State Library Agency. The State Data Coordinator collects the requested data from local public libraries. All 50 states and the District of Columbia submit data for individual public libraries, which are aggregated to state and national levels.

From 1994 through 2006, NCES conducted the StLA Survey for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. A state library agency is the official agency of a state that is charged by state law with the extension and development of public library services throughout the state and that has adequate authority under state law to administer state plans in accordance with the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) of 2003. The StLA Survey collected data on services, collections, staffing, revenue, and expenditures.

Further information on the Public Library Survey and State Library Agency Survey can be obtained from

Institute of Museum and Library Services
Office of Policy, Planning, Research, and Communication
Research and Statistics Division
955 L'Enfant Plaza North SW
Washington, DC 20024-2135
imlsinfo@imls.gov
http://www.imls.gov/