As of the fiscal year of 2019, New York state had the highest number of public libraries in the United States, with *** libraries. This was followed by Illinois (with *** public libraries), Texas (with ***), and Iowa (with *** libraries).

As of the fiscal year of 2019, New York state had the highest number of full-time-equivalent staff in public libraries in the United States, with around ****** employees. The states with the next highest number of full-time-equivalent public library staff were California, Ohio, and Illinois.

The Public Libraries data set aggregates individual library services and finance data to the town level.

Public libraries provide free borrowing privileges and services to their patrons and receive financial support from local tax funds. Public libraries may be municipal, which are established by and administrative units of local government, or association, which are not units of town government but receive some public funding. Some towns are served by more than one public library.

Library visits include all persons entering a library for any purpose, including persons attending meetings or activities and persons requiring no staff assistance. Circulation counts all library materials of all formats lent out for use outside the library, including renewals. Registered borrowers are all town residents to whom a library has issued membership. Reference questions counts all interactions in which library staff provide information, knowledge, or recommendations to patrons. Town tax appropriation indicates the funds allotted to the library's operation budget from the town. The Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List per Capita (AENGLC) measures town wealth based on property tax and income per capita.

This statistic shows the number of public libraries in the United States in 2014, by state. There were *** public libraries in the state of New York, making it the state with the largest number of public libraries in the U.S. in 2014.

The purpose of this survey was to identify the cooperative library organizations within the United States and to gather information about these organizations. In this survey the Federal/State Cooperative System for Public Library Data collected 32 basic data items and 7 identifying items for each library. The data items include number of service outlets, full-time equivalent staff, income, operational expenditures, capital outlay, library collection, annual public service hours, library services, and inter-library loans. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in this file, which encompasses 8,968 libraries.

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) provides statistics on the status of public libraries in the United States. It is a voluntary survey conducted annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 survey is the 27th in the series. The data files include all public libraries identified by state library administrative agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the outlying areas of American Samoa and Guam. The reporting unit for the survey is the administrative entity, defined as the agency that is legally established under local or state law to provide public library service to the population of a local jurisdiction. In this survey, the term public library means an administrative entity. For Fiscal Year 2015, IMLS collected the following information via a web-based survey for the PLS: Library Data - Data on each public library, such as its name and address, population of legal service area, service outlets, collections, full-time-equivalent staff, and operating revenue and expenditures. State characteristics data, including the reporting period starting and ending dates, the state total population estimate, and the total unduplicated population of legal service areas for the state. These data are contained in dataset 1 and include 9,251 records; 9,231 were public libraries and 20 were administrative entities that closed or temporarily closed for FY 2015. State Data - Each state library agency reported these data on the "State Characteristics" record because they are not library-level data. These data are in dataset 2 and include 53 records, one for each state and outlying area. Outlet Data - Data on each public library service outlet, such as its name and address, type, county location, metropolitan status, square footage, public service hours per year, and number of weeks a library outlet is open. These data are in dataset 3 and include 17,408 total records. The file includes identifying information and a few basic data items for public library service outlets (central, branch, bookmobile, and books-by-mail-only outlets). The file includes 17,328 outlets in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 8 outlets in the outlying areas, and 72 records for outlets that were reported as closed or were temporarily closed for FY 2015. This data collection is useful to researchers, journalists, the public, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels. These data are used by federal, state and local officials, professional associations, and local practitioners for planning, evaluation, and policy making.

Since the fiscal year of 1995, the number of public libraries in the United States has increased from ***** to ***** in 2019. The number of public libraries peaked in 2009, when there were ***** public libraries nationwide.

The Public Libraries Survey (PLS) is an annual survey of U.S. public libraries. Policymakers and practitioners depend on PLS data to allocate funding and strategically manage libraries. Academics rely on PLS data to conduct original research about public libraries. Data in the PLS come from over 17,000 outlets, and it represents a "gold standard" for national information about public libraries. While the PLS is an invaluable resource for the public library community, other organizations collect data that extends the reach and significance of the PLS. This dataset extends the PLS using information from the Public Library Association (PLA), the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS), and the U.S. Census Bureau. PLA data comes from Project Outcome, a free toolkit and online resource for public libraries to document the outcomes associated with public library services. Since 2015, Project Outcome has collected more than 390,000 responses to surveys at 2,200+ libraries in the U.S. and Canada describing the outcomes resulting from library services. The standardized surveys used by Project Outcome have enabled libraries to aggregate their outcome data and analyze trends by topic, type, and program. ABOS data comes from a 2023 national, non-representative survey of public libraries regarding their outreach departments, services, and vehicles. Census data is from the American Community Survey and provides demographic information regarding the geographies that public libraries serve. As part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research curated these data for reuse and mapped them to libraries in the PLS. The result is a combined dataset that documents the impact of library programming and outreach on nationwide communities. To enhance these data, a committee led by the University of Missouri, School of Information Science and Learning Technologies identified supplemental variables (e.g., Census demographic figures) and guided data curation by creating a "data module" specifying curation enhancements.

The library patronage indicator measures the percentage of the total resident population served by each public library (the percentage of eligible residents that holds an unexpired library card). Ten public libraries and public library districts in Champaign County are included: the Champaign Public Library, the Homer Community Library, the Mahomet Public Library District, the Ogden Rose Public Library, the Philo Public Library District, the Rantoul Public Library, the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, the Sidney Community Library, the Tolono Public Library District, and the Urbana Free Library. Public libraries often serve as community hubs and offer a number of educational and social opportunities and services for their population served. Registration for and maintenance of a library card is one way a resident can engage in recreation and other community involvement.

In 2021, five of the ten libraries analyzed had residential participation rates between 20 and 30 percent: Champaign Public Library, 27.57 percent; St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 25.12 percent; Mahomet Public Library District, 22.38 percent; Tolono Public Library District, 21.82 percent; and the Philo Public Library District, 21.3 percent.

The libraries with the greatest percentage of the resident population with unexpired library cards were the Homer Community Library, at 38.96 percent, and the Urbana Free Library at 30 percent. The libraries with the smallest percentage of the resident population with unexpired library cards were the Sidney Community Library, 18.13 percent; Rantoul Public Library, 17.22 percent; and the Ogden Rose Public Library, at 13.85 percent.

All ten public libraries in Champaign County saw the percentage of their resident population with unexpired library cards decrease between 2015 and 2021. It is worth noting that many library buildings were closed during part of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that along with statewide stay-at-home orders may have deterred residents from renewing or obtaining library cards.

The release of the 2020 Census results in 2021 shows that the population in eight of the ten library districts decreased from 2010 to 2020. It is important to note that the population of a library district sometimes differs than the population of the municipality where it is located (e.g., Tolono).

The two library districts that saw a population increase in 2020 were the Champaign Public Library and Tolono Public Library District. However, the number of unexpired library cards in those districts decreased in 2021, so the decrease in the percentage of the population with library cards cannot be explained by population growth.

The two library districts that saw an increase in the percentage of the population with library cards from 2020 to 2021 are the Homer Community Library and Urbana Free Library. The number of unexpired library cards at the Homer Community Library increased from 2020 to 2021, which explains the percentage increase. However, the number of unexpired library cards at the Urbana Free Library decreased from 2020 to 2021, so the percentage increase is due to the library district’s population decrease.

Data was sourced from the Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR), an annual report from the Illinois State Library and Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The population data included in the IPLAR dataset is sourced from the 2020 Census. To be consistent with the data source, we have also calculated the percentage of residents with library cards based on the number of cardholders divided by the total 2020 Census population.

Source: Illinois State Library, Office of the Illinois Secretary of State.

The State Library of Oregon collects annual service measures, financial data, and other statistics from all legally-established public libraries in the state, as per Oregon Revised Statue 357.520 (Annual report). The data reporting period matches the state fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). This dataset includes all Oregon Public Library Statistical Report data from each year starting in FY2009-2010, and is updated annually. Reporting periods are identified as the year the report was submitted (i.e., FY2009-2010 data is identified as 2010 in the Year column).

This represents public library cardholder physical book checkouts, electronic book checkouts, computer usage and WiFi usage.

The statistic illustrates the number of libraries in Italy in 2018, broken down by administration. Out of the almost ** thousand libraries in Italy in 2018, the greatest number (*****) was managed by regional authorities. Extraterritorial authorities with *** library managed the lowest number of libraries.

This dataset tracks services that Washington State public libraries continued to provide to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many library buildings and facilities were closed to prevent viral spread and protect public health. The dataset also tracks reopening that began in summer 2020.

This study was a survey of all libraries in 50 states and the District of Columbia that served departments or organizations within the state governments. Phase I identified the libraries within the states and the District of Columbia. Phase II consisted of surveying these libraries, and developing edit specifications and table programs. These data provide the following information: library name, library address, number of full-time and part-time employees in different departments, expenditures, holdings, and loan transactions.

This dataset lists Washington State public library locations that offer wireless internet access (wifi) just outside the building or facility. This external wifi access became more important during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when public library buildings were temporarily closed. The information is based on Washington State Library surveys, correspondence with public library staff, and review of public library websites.

The Public Libraries Survey, Fiscal Year 2005 (PLS FY2005), is a study that is part of the Library Statistics program. PLS FY2005 (https://www.imls.gov/research/public_libraries_in_the_united_states_survey.aspx) is a cross-sectional study that includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, public service hours, library materials, total circulation, circulation of children's materials, reference transactions, library visits, children's program attendance, interlibrary loans, electronic services and information, full-time-equivalent staff, operating revenue and expenditures, and capital expenditures. The study was conducted using paper surveys, web-based surveys, and email. The key respondents in this study were state library agencies. The study's response rate was 97.7 percent. The key statistics produced from PLS FY2005 were about service measures such as access to the Internet, number of users of electronic resources, number of internet terminals used by the general public, reference transactions, public service hours, interlibrary loans, circulation, library visits, children's program attendance, and circulation of children's materials. It also includes information about size of collection, staffing, operating revenue and expenditures, type of geographic service area, type of legal basis, type of administrative structure, number and type of public library service outlets, and square footage of outlets.

The Public Libraries Survey, Fiscal Year 2002 (PLS FY2002), is a study that is part of the Library Statistics program. PLS FY2002 (https://www.imls.gov/research/public_libraries_in_the_united_states_survey.aspx) is a cross-sectional survey that collects annual descriptive data on the universe of public libraries in the U.S. and the Outlying Areas. Information such as public service hours per year, circulation of library books, etc., number of librarians, population of legal service area, expenditures for library collection, staff salary data, and access to technology are collected. The study was conducted using paper surveys. The key respondents in this study were state library agencies. The study's response rate was 98.1 percent. The key statistics produced from PLS FY2002 were about service measures such as access to the Internet, number of users of electronic resources, other electronic services, number of Internet terminals used by staff only, number of Internet terminals used by the general public, reference transactions, public service hours, interlibrary loans, circulation, library visits, children's program attendance, and circulation of children's materials. It also includes information about size of collection, staffing, operating income and expenditures, type of geographic service area, type of legal basis, type of administrative structure, and number and type of public library service outlets.

The number of public libraries in Sweden has steadily declined since 1996. Back in that year, there were ***** public libraries in the Scandinavian country. By 2023, this number amounted to *****. Roughly half of the Swedish population reported reading books daily in 2022.

Comprehensive dataset containing 28 verified Public library businesses in Delaware, United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.

Comprehensive dataset containing 19,255 verified Public library businesses in United States with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.