Number of public libraries, number of books and serial volumes, and per capita usage of selected library services per year, by state or jurisdiction: Fiscal years 2019 and 2020

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Table 701.60.Number of public libraries, number of books and serial volumes, and per capita usage of selected library services per year, by state or jurisdiction: Fiscal years 2019 and 2020
State or jurisdiction	Number of public libraries¹		Number of books and serial volumes				Per capita² usage of selected services per year
	Number of public libraries¹		In thousands		Per capita²		Number of library visits³		Circulation (number of materials lent)		Reference transac-tions⁴		Uses of public-access internet computers
	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
United States	9,057	9,025	686,878	669,128	2.2	2.1	3.9	2.3	6.9	5.2	0.7	---	0.7	0.4
Alabama	220	220	8,668	8,446	1.8	1.8	3.0	1.7	4.3	3.3	0.8	---	0.7	0.4
Alaska	64	68	2,077	2,013	3.2	3.1	4.8	3.8	7.8	6.0	0.5	---	0.9	0.6
Arizona	89	87	7,632	7,307	1.1	1.0	3.3	2.3	6.9	6.4	0.3	---	0.6	0.4
Arkansas	60	58	5,897	5,632	2.1	2.1	3.4	1.5	5.1	3.3	0.8	---	0.5	0.1
California	185	184	55,979	54,431	1.4	1.4	3.5	2.4	5.4	4.4	0.4	---	0.6	0.4
Colorado	112	112	9,485	9,303	1.7	1.7	5.3	1.7	11.4	7.8	0.7	---	0.9	0.3
Connecticut	180	181	12,429	12,058	3.8	3.6	5.8	4.1	7.6	5.9	0.9	---	1.0	0.7
Delaware	21	21	1,453	1,427	1.5	1.5	4.2	2.8	5.8	4.3	0.8	---	0.5	0.4
District of Columbia	1	1	971	201	1.4	0.3	5.4	2.7	6.9	5.9	1.2	---	1.3	0.7
Florida	81	76	26,035	24,007	1.2	1.1	3.0	1.6	4.9	3.7	0.9	---	0.6	0.3
Georgia	62	62	15,817	14,733	1.5	1.4	2.4	1.7	3.3	2.7	0.6	---	1.0	0.6
Hawaii	1	1	2,896	3,174	2.0	2.2	2.4	1.8	4.0	3.3	0.4	---	0.6	0.8
Idaho	103	104	4,229	4,251	2.8	2.8	5.5	3.0	10.9	8.1	0.7	---	0.9	0.5
Illinois	623	623	38,460	37,806	3.3	3.2	5.2	4.3	9.0	8.0	0.8	---	0.8	0.7
Indiana	236	236	21,183	21,042	3.5	3.5	5.0	2.1	10.7	6.9	0.6	---	0.8	0.3
Iowa	535	535	11,540	11,390	3.8	3.7	5.4	3.9	8.0	6.5	0.5	---	0.8	0.5
Kansas	318	317	8,623	8,392	3.4	3.3	5.4	2.2	10.1	6.9	0.8	---	1.0	0.3
Kentucky	120	120	9,144	8,991	2.1	2.0	3.6	2.6	6.5	5.8	0.8	---	0.8	0.6
Louisiana	67	67	11,417	11,046	2.5	2.4	3.5	1.4	4.8	3.3	0.9	---	1.0	0.3
Maine	228	229	5,897	5,918	4.9	5.0	5.4	3.3	6.6	4.9	0.5	---	0.6	0.3
Maryland	24	24	10,077	10,419	1.7	1.7	4.1	2.9	9.3	7.2	1.3	---	0.8	0.6
Massachusetts	367	367	28,923	28,454	4.2	4.1	5.8	3.9	8.1	6.7	0.7	---	0.8	0.6
Michigan	396	396	25,928	25,322	2.6	2.6	4.4	3.4	7.7	7.1	0.8	---	0.7	0.5
Minnesota	136	135	13,475	13,477	2.4	2.4	3.9	1.4	9.1	5.6	0.5	---	0.7	0.2
Mississippi	53	53	5,464	5,375	1.8	1.8	2.3	1.2	2.2	1.5	0.3	---	0.6	0.3
Missouri	149	149	15,456	15,325	2.8	2.8	4.4	3.6	9.5	9.1	0.5	---	0.8	0.6
Montana	82	82	2,412	2,393	2.4	2.4	4.1	3.0	6.2	5.0	0.5	---	0.8	0.5
Nebraska	236	235	5,552	5,497	3.5	3.5	4.5	2.3	8.6	6.0	0.4	---	1.0	0.4
Nevada	22	22	3,688	3,318	1.2	1.1	3.1	2.2	5.7	4.7	0.4	---	0.8	0.6
New Hampshire	220	217	5,524	5,307	4.1	3.9	5.1	2.5	7.5	5.2	0.6	---	0.5	0.2
New Jersey	296	282	25,058	24,466	2.9	2.8	4.8	1.5	5.9	3.7	0.7	---	0.9	0.2
New Mexico	88	87	4,008	3,810	2.7	2.6	4.6	3.1	6.3	5.1	0.6	---	1.0	0.7
New York	756	755	64,494	63,878	3.3	3.3	4.9	2.0	5.7	3.4	1.4	---	0.8	0.3
North Carolina	82	82	15,426	15,011	1.5	1.4	2.9	2.1	4.9	4.1	0.7	---	0.5	0.3
North Dakota	73	72	2,079	2,039	3.1	3.0	3.0	1.3	5.2	3.5	0.5	---	0.6	0.2
Ohio	251	251	37,947	37,089	3.3	3.2	5.9	3.8	15.6	10.1	1.4	---	1.1	0.4
Oklahoma	119	119	6,152	5,799	1.9	1.8	4.1	3.0	7.9	6.6	0.5	---	0.9	0.6
Oregon	132	133	8,702	8,558	2.5	2.7	5.6	4.3	15.4	13.7	0.5	---	0.8	0.6
Pennsylvania	452	447	23,930	23,440	1.9	1.9	3.2	1.4	5.2	3.7	0.6	---	0.4	0.2
Rhode Island	48	48	3,144	3,081	3.0	2.9	4.9	3.5	6.3	5.4	0.5	---	0.7	0.5
South Carolina	42	42	8,483	8,223	1.8	1.8	2.9	2.2	5.3	4.1	0.6	---	0.7	0.5
South Dakota	111	108	2,767	2,699	3.6	3.4	4.8	1.9	7.5	5.2	0.5	---	1.2	0.4
Tennessee	186	185	10,884	10,275	1.6	1.5	2.7	2.0	4.3	3.7	0.5	---	0.6	0.4
Texas	544	545	36,348	34,449	1.4	1.3	2.5	1.3	4.4	3.2	0.5	---	0.4	0.2
Utah	70	71	6,359	6,268	2.1	2.0	4.8	2.7	11.5	8.6	0.9	---	0.6	0.3
Vermont	162	164	2,747	2,751	4.7	4.7	5.9	4.2	7.3	6.5	0.7	---	0.7	0.6
Virginia	93	93	15,400	14,921	1.8	1.8	4.0	2.8	7.3	5.8	0.8	---	0.7	0.5
Washington	60	60	11,857	11,617	1.6	1.5	4.8	1.3	11.7	6.9	0.4	---	0.8	0.2
West Virginia	97	96	4,736	4,566	2.6	2.5	2.5	1.8	3.5	2.8	0.3	---	0.4	0.2
Wisconsin	381	380	17,777	17,676	3.0	3.0	5.0	2.2	9.3	5.9	0.6	---	0.6	0.2
Wyoming	23	23	2,247	2,057	3.9	3.6	5.4	3.9	7.8	7.0	0.8	---	1.1	0.6
Other jurisdictions
American Samoa	1	1	44	45	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.4	0.2	0.2	---	---	0.1	0.1
Guam	1	1	279	287	1.7	1.7	0.6	0.2	0.2	0.1	---	---	0.1	#
Northern Marianas	1	1	82	84	1.6	1.6	2.9	0.8	1.1	0.7	---	---	0.2	0.1
Puerto Rico	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
U.S. Virgin Islands	1	1	177	177	1.7	1.7	---	---	0.1	0.1	---	---	0	0
---Not available.
#Rounds to zero.
¹Refers to the number of administrative entities that are legally established under local or state law to provide public library service to the population of a local jurisdiction. A public library (administrative entity) may have a single outlet that provides direct service to the public, or it may have multiple service outlets. In 2019, a total of 16,607 stationary service outlets (8,884 central libraries and 7,723 branch libraries) were open to the public; 671 additional service outlets were bookmobiles. In 2020, a total of 16,568 stationary service outlets (8,852 central libraries and 7,716 branch libraries) were open to the public; 679 additional service outlets were bookmobiles.
²Per capita (or per person) data are based on unduplicated populations of the areas served by public libraries.
³Includes only the number of physical visits (entering the library for any purpose). The survey does not collect data on the number of online visits.
⁴A reference transaction is an information contact that involves the knowledge, use, recommendations, interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a member of the library staff.
NOTE: Data include imputations for nonresponse. Caution should be used when comparing data between states or between libraries with different reporting periods due to the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on library closures. For example, in the 2020 Public Libraries Survey data, six states (Alaska, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, and Vermont) have reporting periods that ended in February 2020 or earlier, which was before any widespread library closures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2019, retrieved September 8, 2021, from https://www.imls.gov/research-evaluation/data-collection/public-libraries-survey; and fiscal year 2020, retrieved June 26, 2023, from https://www.imls.gov/pls-benchmarking-tables. (This table was prepared June 2023.)

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