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Digest of Education Statistics
2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 701.10. Selected statistics on public school libraries/media centers, by level of school: Selected years, 1999-2000 through 2011-12
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected statistic 1999-2000 2003-04 2007-08 2011-12
Total Elementary Secondary Combined elementary/ secondary Total Elementary Secondary Combined elementary/ secondary
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of schools with libraries/media centers 77,300 (421) 78,300 (548) 81,900 (634) 59,700 (492) 17,800 (414) 4,400 (239) 81,200 (510) 58,000 (418) 17,100 (357) 6,100   (373)
                                           
Average number of staff per library/media                                          
center 1.89 (0.018) 1.76 (0.014) 1.72 (0.017) 1.65 (0.019) 2.04 (0.039) 1.42 (0.057) 1.77 (0.017) 1.72 (0.020) 1.93 (0.027) 1.76   (0.056)
   Certified library/media specialists 0.81 (0.007) 0.79 (0.009) 0.78 (0.011) 0.73 (0.013) 0.98 (0.019) 0.66 (0.033) 0.90 (0.012) 0.88 (0.014) 0.99 (0.017) 0.88   (0.031)
Full-time 0.65 (0.007) 0.65 (0.009) 0.66 (0.010) 0.61 (0.012) 0.88 (0.018) 0.49 (0.032) 0.71 (0.010) 0.67 (0.012) 0.84 (0.017) 0.69   (0.029)
Part-time 0.16 (0.006) 0.14 (0.007) 0.13 (0.007) 0.13 (0.010) 0.10 (0.009) 0.18 (0.020) 0.20 (0.008) 0.21 (0.010) 0.15 (0.010) 0.19   (0.020)
Other professional staff 0.17 (0.007) 0.19 (0.008) 0.22 (0.010) 0.22 (0.013) 0.21 (0.021) 0.24 (0.027) 0.19 (0.007) 0.18 (0.009) 0.17 (0.014) 0.27   (0.026)
Full-time 0.12 (0.005) 0.13 (0.007) 0.13 (0.008) 0.13 (0.010) 0.14 (0.017) 0.15 (0.022) 0.12 (0.006) 0.11 (0.007) 0.13 (0.013) 0.16   (0.022)
Part-time 0.06 (0.004) 0.05 (0.005) 0.08 (0.007) 0.08 (0.009) 0.07 (0.013) 0.08 (0.017) 0.07 (0.005) 0.07 (0.007) 0.05 (0.005) 0.11   (0.014)
Other paid employees 0.91 (0.014) 0.78 (0.011) 0.72 (0.013) 0.70 (0.016) 0.86 (0.027) 0.51 (0.036) 0.68 (0.011) 0.66 (0.012) 0.76 (0.021) 0.61   (0.040)
Full-time 0.49 (0.008) 0.46 (0.009) 0.43 (0.013) 0.39 (0.016) 0.60 (0.022) 0.27 (0.028) 0.40 (0.008) 0.37 (0.009) 0.52 (0.017) 0.39   (0.031)
Part-time 0.41 (0.014) 0.33 (0.012) 0.29 (0.011) 0.31 (0.014) 0.26 (0.018) 0.24 (0.028) 0.28 (0.009) 0.29 (0.012) 0.24 (0.012) 0.22   (0.027)
                                           
Percent of libraries/media centers with                                          
certain media equipment                                          
Automated catalog 72.8 (0.69) 82.7 (0.66) 87.2 (0.71) 87.5 (0.94) 90.6 (1.08) 69.8 (2.88) 88.3 (0.49) 89.1 (0.60) 90.3 (0.78) 74.4   (2.16)
Automated circulation system 74.4 (0.65) 86.9 (0.61) 89.5 (0.68) 89.9 (0.87) 92.6 (0.98) 72.4 (3.15) 90.3 (0.47) 91.7 (0.59) 90.1 (0.75) 77.8   (2.17)
Media retrieval system1 (†) (†) 34.9 (1.05) 35.9 (1.33) 35.1 (1.66) 20.6 (2.32) 32.5 (0.76) 33.6 (0.99) 32.3 (0.91) 22.4   (1.92)
Connection to Internet 90.1 (0.57) 95.1 (0.35) 96.7 (0.40) 96.5 (0.51) 98.6 (0.51) 91.6 (1.90) 95.9 (0.34) 96.2 (0.46) 97.3 (0.49) 89.6   (1.82)
Digital video disc (DVD) player/video                                          
cassette recorder (VCR) (†) 87.8 (0.60) 87.2 (0.77) 86.7 (1.02) 89.6 (1.00) 84.5 (2.20) 83.2 (0.76) 82.8 (0.98) 86.7 (0.76) 77.7   (2.00)
Disability assistance technologies,                                          
such as TDD (†) 11.9 (0.50) 23.9 (1.05) 23.0 (1.33) 26.4 (1.34) 25.9 (2.76) 31.0 (0.75) 29.9 (0.94) 34.3 (1.02) 31.9   (1.95)
                                           
Percent of libraries/media centers with                                          
certain services                                          
Students permitted to check out laptops (†) (†) 27.5 (1.02) 26.9 (1.27) 29.8 (1.34) 26.1 (2.57) 40.2 (0.69) 39.3 (0.85) 42.4 (1.08) 41.8   (2.67)
Staff permitted to check out laptops (†) (†) 45.9 (1.07) 45.2 (1.35) 50.1 (1.50) 38.5 (2.85) 54.3 (0.85) 53.9 (0.99) 55.5 (1.23) 54.2   (2.43)
                                           
Number of library computer workstations per                                          
100 students (†) 2.3 (0.04) 2.6 (0.05) 2.5 (0.07) 2.9 (0.06) 3.0 (0.17) 3.1 (0.05) 2.8 (0.06) 3.6 (0.08) 3.3   (0.23)
                                           
Number of holdings per 100 students at the                                          
end of the school year2                                          
Books (number of volumes) 1,803 (19.7) 1,891 (45.1) 2,015 (30.5) 2,316 (40.2) 1,432 (36.6) 2,439 (132.3) 2,188 (42.4) 2,570 (58.5) 1,474 (24.7) 2,066   (87.3)
Audio and video materials 59 (0.9) 80 (3.7) 90 (3.8) 93 (5.6) 81 (5.2) 107 (13.3) 81 (2.4) 85 (3.3) 71 (2.9) 97   (8.3)
                                           
Number of additions per 100 students during                                          
the school year2                                          
Books (number of volumes) (†) 99.3 (2.08) 95.3 (2.21) 113.3 (3.26) 62.1 (2.67) 103.4 (7.41) 89.4 (3.47) 104.8 (5.45) 58.9 (2.08) 92.5   (6.54)
Audio and video materials (†) 5.1 (0.19) 5.4 (0.49) 5.9 (0.77) 4.5 (0.41) 5.7 (0.84) 4.3 (0.37) 3.8 (0.32) 4.2 (0.70) 8.2 ! (3.28)
                                           
Expenditures for library/media materials                                          
per pupil2 in current dollars                                          
Total3 $23.37 (0.438) $16.24 (0.322) $16.11 (0.461) $16.18 (0.591) $15.90 (0.647) $17.00 (1.216) $16.00 (0.691) $16.48 (1.099) $14.80 (0.584) $17.26   (1.215)
   Books 9.97 (0.153) 10.99 (0.299) 11.40 (0.291) 11.99 (0.389) 10.26 (0.504) 12.10 (1.094) 10.28 (0.343) 10.73 (0.480) 9.41 (0.526) 10.27   (0.830)
   Audio and video materials 1.66 (0.032) 1.14 (0.045) 1.08 (0.055) 1.06 (0.088) 1.11 (0.054) 1.16 (0.152) 0.84 (0.072) 0.80 (0.113) 0.89 (0.062) 0.89   (0.131)
   Current serial subscriptions 1.26 (0.016) 1.38 (0.025) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†)
   Electronic subscriptions 0.81 (0.018) 0.88 (0.033) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†)
                                           
Expenditures for library/media materials                                          
per pupil2 in constant 2017–18 dollars4                                          
Total3 $33.50 (0.642) $21.65 (0.429) $18.88 (0.540) $18.96 (0.692) $18.64 (0.759) $19.92 (1.426) $17.45 (0.754) $17.97 (1.198) $16.13 (0.636) $18.81   (1.324)
   Books 14.61 (0.224) 14.66 (0.398) 13.36 (0.342) 14.05 (0.456) 12.03 (0.591) 14.18 (1.283) 11.21 (0.374) 11.70 (0.523) 10.26 (0.573) 11.20   (0.905)
Audio and video materials 2.44 (0.047) 1.53 (0.059) 1.27 (0.065) 1.24 (0.103) 1.30 (0.063) 1.36 (0.178) 0.91 (0.079) 0.87 (0.123) 0.97 (0.068) 0.97   (0.143)
Current serial subscriptions 1.85 (0.023) 1.84 (0.033) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†)
Electronic subscriptions 1.19 (0.026) 1.18 (0.044) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
1Centralized video distribution equipment with a scheduling and control server that telecasts video to classrooms.
2Holdings, additions, and expenditures are from the prior school year, while enrollment counts are from the current school year.
3Includes other expenditures not separately shown.
4Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.
NOTE: 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, 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12; and "Charter School Questionnaire," 1999-2000. (This table was prepared September 2018.)

2018 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest