ACRL Publishes 2010 Statistics

New ACRLMetrics System Also In Use

Last month ACRL released 2010 Academic Library Trends and Statistics, a report of statistics from 1,514 participating academic libraries in the USA and, to a lesser extent, Canada. The report contains statistical data describing library collections, expenditures, electronic resources, staff and services, user-related characteristics (like Ph.D.'s granted and student enrollment), and professional librarian status (faculty, tenure, and so on).

The press release reports a couple of statistical trends, such as the increase in the median cost of monographs in institutions of all types, and the increase in expenditures as a percentage of all collection expenditures in institutions other than those granding doctoral degrees.

The report is available for purchase as a 3-volume set ($550) or as separate volumes ($180 OR $190). Last year ACRL also initiated an automated data system, ACRLMetrics, by which participants submit and access their statistical data. The system, developed and operated by Counting Opinions, is described in detail in an 2011 article in the Journal of Academic Librarianship.

Proceedings of 2010 Library Assessment Conference Published

68 Peer-Reviewed Articles

The proceedings of the 2010 Library Assessment Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland last August are now available. This is the third of these conferences, which are held in the U.S. biennially. The conferences are organized by the University of Virgina Library, the University Libraries of the University of Washington, and the Association of Research Libraries.

There were five keynote speakers at the 2010 conference: Fred Heath (University of Texas), Danuta Nitecki (Drexel University), Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse University), Joe Matthews (JRM Consulting), and Stephen Town (University of York, UK). Besides appearing in the proceedings, their addresses were also published in the January 2011 Library Quarterly.

Attendance at the conferences continues to grow, as does the length of the proceeding (now 788 pages). The 2012 Library Assessment Conference will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia.

4th Edition of LJ Index of Public Library Service Published

Article Examines Recession's Effects on Library Use

The 4th edition of the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service came out today. This is the U.S public library rating system that my colleague, Keith Curry Lance, and I announced in this 2008 article. The LJ Index is sponsored by Baker & Taylor's Bibliostat Connect.

This year 7,513 libraries are rated with 262 earning STAR designations. Both of these numbers are records compared with prior LJ Index rating years. To be rated public libraries must report the four statistical measures used in the index to the Institute of Museum and Library Services via the state library agencies.

The article also explores changes in mean statistical values for each rating peer group, which are based on library expenditures. Plus we examine trends for pre- and post-recession years.

The ratings are accompanied by an editorisl by LJ Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff stressing the importance of library performance statistics in both lean and fat times. The FAQs cover several important measurement issues. Also, I have prepared a set of statistical charts analyzing various data distributions from this year's ratings.

IMLS Issues 2009 Public Libraries Survey Report

Applies New Locale Categories

This month Institute of Museum and Library Services published Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2009. The report accompanies survey data from the Institute's annual census of U.S. public libraries that were released last July. The document summarizes 2009 library statistics from the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and outlying territories.

In this year's report IMLS continues to expand on the number of charts portraying multi-year trends for key library statistical measures. A new series of charts has been added exploring statistical trends by what IMLS terms locale type or locality: urban, suburban, town, and rural. In some cases this new breakdown is further divided to compare total services delivered with those delivered to children. The report also examines multi-year trends in collection composition. And several new maps have been included depicting statistical rates state by state.

Ground-Breaking Study of Academic Collections and Circulation

Collaboraton by OhioLink and OCLC

OhioLink and OCLC jointly issued a report entitled Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011. These collaborating organizations report that "the goal of the project was to better understand the usage patterns of books in academic libraries." The research was limited to books and manuscripts since these seemed the most pertinent material types for measuring things like decrease in usage over time and level of duplication in holdings.

The project entailed the creation of a mammoth database consisting of 30 million bibliographic records and circulation data for 2007 and 2008 from the 89 institutional members of OhioLink. The data are available for download here.

Examples of study findings are that circulation rates are non-uniform across institutions, subjects, language, and ages of materials; that use of non-English collections is lower than expected; and that 80% of state-wide circulation is driven by 6% of the collection. The researchers note that the study's findings are statistically generalizable only to Ohio institutions.

Paper Presented at 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement

New Graph Designs Proposed for Analyzing LibQual+® Data

A paper I wrote, Using Basic Data Visualization Methods to Explore LibQual+® Data, was presented at the 9th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services held last month at the University of York in the UK. Martha Kyrillidou, Senior Director, ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs, graciously agreed to present the paper on my behalf, since I was unable to attend the conference in person.

The paper proposes a set of graphs to supplement the traditional LibQual+® radar (star) charts. These are various bar charts designed to assist users in making more precise comparisons of survey items depicted in the radar charts. I also mention the advantages of including basic interactive features, such those available in Tableau Software, for making charts more informative.

Since LibQual+® findings typically present data as means (averages), I recommend that libraries spend time exploring distributions of their survey data also. The paper contains illustrative histograms useful for this purpose. The PowerPoint presentation is available here.

Sequel to US Public Library Technology Impact Study Published

Case Studies Used to Formulate Recommendations

The sequel to the U of Washington study was released last month under the title, Opportunity for All: How Library Policies and Practices Impact Public Internet Access. This research, funded by IMLS and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, consists of four in-depth case studies. Researchers visited the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore, MD), Fayetteville Public Library (Fayetteville, AR), Oakland Public Library (Oakland CA), and Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown, IA) to assess their economic climate, technology infrastructure, budgets, staffing, and other operational characteristics.

The report recommends that technology access services be better integrated into library operations, that activity-based budgeting be employed to track technology costs better, that technology utilization data be used for performance improvement and accountability, that staff receive ongoing technical training, that libraries formalize their relationships with community organizations, and that "data and stories be used to communicate the value of public access technology."

Who's in the Queue?

IMLS Research Brief on Public Computer Use

Availability and use of public computer technology continues to be the focus of national studies of library services, as demonstrated in the release last month of Who's in the Queue: A Demographic Analysis of Public Access Computers Users and Uses in U.S. Public Libraries.

Based on the 2010 U of Washington study, Opportunity for All, and 2009 data from the U.S Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the report concludes that demographic characteristics of users of public library computers "resemble" those of the public at large. The authors say these data "dispel some myths" that have been central to public policy regarding access to technology, namely that the beneficiaries of public technology are primarily those on the wrong side of the digital divide. The authors report that 86% of public access users have regular access to computers at home.

The report does not address the question of whether the needs of the digitally-deprived are or are not being met. But it does conclude there is a value-added aspect to public library technology access, since the "statistics clearly demonstrate that people are not going to the library simply to use the hardware" (p.7).

New Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study

ALA and University of Maryland Information Policy & Access Center Publish 2010-2011 Edition

The newest annual edition of the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study is now available. Since 1994 these surveys have tracked library technology capacities and practices, demand for Internet computers and access, and related data. More recently the surveys began collecting funding and budgeting information. This latest study reports continued evidence of significant budget cuts among U.S. libraries. In many locales, however, these cuts appear to have leveled off.

Consistent with their prior years' reports, the researchers continue to find that public demand outstrips supply of local library technology: "Regardless of the planned increase in bandwidth, wireless availability, and number of public access computers, libraries consistently reported that their public access technology is insufficient to meet current levels of use" (p.6).

IMLS Issues Research Brief on State Support for Library Services

60% of States Report FY 2009 Funding Losses

A newly released research brief from IMLS summarizes results of the agency's annual survey of state library authorities in the U.S. The full 2009 survey report was issued in February 2011.

Compared to fiscal year 2008, state library funding in 2009 fell by $34 million, a 3.3% decrease. (The analysis omitted revenues from other sources.) Six states had decreases in excess of 15%, with Florida reporting a 31% decrease. At the same time, 20 U.S. state libary authorities reported an increase in 2009 state funding. For five states this increase exceeded 15%, with Colorado reporting a 58% increase.

Changes in staffing from 2008 to 2009 represented a nearly 7% cut in FTE employees at the authorities. 60% of these were positions responsible for providing direct services either to local libraries or state and local government patrons. From 2005 to 2009, total state authorities staffing decreased from 3,581 to 3,174, an 11.4% diminution.

ALA State of Libraries 2011

Funding Still A Prime Concern

Last week the American Library Association released its annual report, The State of America's Libraries. Primarily an advocacy document, the report is a compendium of trends, issues, current events, and promotional narrative related to academic, public, and school libraries in the U.S. It also addresses issues deemed relevant to the library and information science profession as a whole, such as a national broadband plan, citizen privacy, technology news, and censorship.

Library funding, including budget cuts at the institutional, local, and federal levels, is a key theme in the report. The ALA authors contend that during bad economic times libraries "continue to pull their weight," have increased relevance, and are able to do more with less resources.

On the technology front, while praising libraries' abilities to excel in offering advanced technology options to users, the report also warns libraries of the need to "adapt to survive!"

New Study of Great Recession's Impact on Library Use

Issued by Library Research Service

This month the Library Research Service issued a study entitled The Impact of the Recession on Colorado Public Library Use. The report examines Colorado public library use statistics before and after the historic recession of 2007. The study is also available in a 'fast facts' summary format.

The researchers looked at changes in state level averages for four service statistics—visits per capita, circulation per capita, program attendance per 1,000 residents, and public Internet computer use—among libraries serving communities of 25,000 or more and libraries in resort locations.

In 2006 and 2007 the first three indicators exhibited a downward trend which changed in 2008. In the case of public Internet computer use, there was a ongoing upward trend noted prior to 2008, probably due to improved reporting of this new indicator.

The researchers also report notable increases to rates of change in these data after the recession. They conclude that both types of changes observed in the service statistics were due to the 2007-2009 recession.

New Article on Summer Reading Impact Research

Critique of The Dominican Study

The current issue of Public Library Quarterly (PLQ) includes an article I wrote critiquing a three-year IMLS-funded study, The Dominican Study: Public Library Summer Reading Programs Close the Reading Gap. The PLQ article is a more formal rendition of an essay I posted in my blog last summer. The Dominican Study authors concluded that more rigorous research than they were able to conduct was needed. My article explores this idea further, revisiting some basics of impact research, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and inferential statistics.

In their executive summary, The Dominican Study researchers fail to explain that their findings are, for the most part, inconclusive. This leaves readers to assume otherwise and to draw their own mistaken conclusions about library summer reading program impacts. My article tries to rectify this and calls for more focused research to determine whether library programs actually reach children who experience "summer reading loss."

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