Public Libraries Survey Fiscal Year 2009 October 2011 (Page is intentionally blank.) ii Project Teams Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation C. Arturo Manjarrez Kim A. Miller Deanne W. Swan U.S. Census Bureau Terri Craig Suzanne Dorinski Michael Freeman Natasha Isaac Patricia O’Shea Peter Schilling Jennifer Scotto Institute of Museum and Library Services Susan H. Hildreth, Director The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov. Contact Information Institute of Museum and Library Services 1800 M Street NW, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20036-5802 202-653-IMLS (4657) www.imls.gov Please direct questions about library statistics to [email protected]. Please direct questions about planning, research and evaluation to [email protected]. Published: October 2011 This publication is only available online at www.imls.gov/statistics. Citation Miller, K., Swan, D., Craig, T., Dorinski, S., Freeman, M., Isaac, N., O’Shea, P., Schilling, P., Scotto, J., (2011). Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2009 (IMLS-2011–PLS-02). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Washington, DC Cover Design: Ellen Arnold Pictured: Top: Exterior view of the Ocean County Library, Toms River, New Jersey. Bottom: Youth Services at the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, West Bloomfield, MI iii Acknowledgments Many individuals made important contributions to this report. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is grateful for their dedication. Following is the list of those individuals (alphabetical by group): U.S. Census Bureau staff: Terri Craig, Suzanne Dorinski, Michael Freeman, Natasha Isaac, Patricia O’Shea, Peter Schilling, and Jennifer Scotto. IMLS would like to extend a special thank you to members of the survey advisory group for their help in managing the survey process. The Library Statistics Working Group (LSWG) is a vital part of the survey team. Their time and effort has helped make this report a more valuable resource to the library community and the public. Members of the LSWG: Hulen Bivins, State Librarian, North Dakota State Library Howard Boksenbaum, Chief of Library Services, Rhode Island Department of Administration Cathleen Bourdon, Associate Executive Director, American Library Association Jo Budler, State Library, State Library of Kansas Peter Haxton, State Data Coordinator, State Library of Kansas Edythe “Edie” Huffman, State Data Coordinator, Indiana State Library Martha Kyrillidou, Director of Statistics and Service Quality, Association of Research Libraries Frank Nelson, State Data Coordinator, Idaho Commission for Libraries Wayne Onkst, State Librarian and Commissioner, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Bruce Pomerantz, State Data Coordinator, Minnesota State Library Services Peggy D. Rudd, Director and Librarian, Texas State Library and Archives Commission Diana Very, State Data Coordinator, Georgia Public Library Service IMLS also extends sincere gratitude to the Chief Officers, State Data Coordinators, other State Library Agency staff, and public library directors and their staff who provided the data for this report. Their diligent efforts result in a national data resource with an exceptionally high response rate, year after year. iv Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vi Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4 Findings ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 34 References ............................................................................................................................................. 37 Tables ...................................................................................................................................................... 38 Appendix A—Public Library State Ranking Tables ................................................................................. 170 Appendix B—Technical Notes ................................................................................................................ 185 Appendix C—Survey Instrument ............................................................................................................ 195 v List of Tables Table Page Number of Public Libraries and Population of Legal Service Area 1 Number of public libraries, population of legal service area, unduplicated population of legal service area, and official state population estimate, by state: Fiscal year 2009 ............... 39 1A Percentage distribution of public libraries, by population of legal service area and state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 41 1B Percentage distribution of population of legal service area of public libraries, by state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 43 Administrative Structure, Service Outlets, and Hours 2 Percentage distribution of public libraries, by type of administrative structure and state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 45 2A Percentage distribution of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by type of administrative structure and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ...... 48 3 Number of public libraries with branches and bookmobiles, and number of service outlets, by type of outlet and state: Fiscal year 2009 ............................................................................. 49 3A Number of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with branches and bookmobiles, and number of service outlets, by type of outlet and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ................................................................................................................. 52 4 Percentage distribution of public libraries, by average number of weekly public service hours per outlet and state: Fiscal year 2009 .............................................................................. 53 4A Percentage distribution of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by average number of weekly public service hours per outlet and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ................................................................................................................ 56 Legal Basis, Geographic Service Area, and Interlibrary Relationship 5 Percentage distribution of public libraries, by type of legal basis and state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 57 5A Percentage distribution of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by type of legal basis and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ........................... 60 6 Percentage distribution of public libraries, by type of geographic service area and state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 61 6A Percentage distribution of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by type of geographic service area and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ..... 64 7 Percentage distribution of public libraries, by type of interlibrary relationship and state: Fiscal year 2009 .......................................................................................................................... 65 vi Table Page 7A Percentage distribution of public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by type of interlibrary relationship and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 ....... 68 Library Services 8 Number of public library services and library services per capita, by type of service and state: Fiscal year 2009 ........................................................................................................ 69 8A Number of public library services and library services per capita in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by type of service and population of legal service area: Fiscal year 2009 .........................................................................................................................