Public Library Data Service Statistical Report

The Public Library Data Service (PLDS) Statistical Report is designed to meet the needs of public library administrators and others, including media outlets, for timely and relevant library-specific data that supports a wide variety of management decisions. Published annually, the PLDS Statistical Report collects information from more than 800 public libraries across the United States and Canada on finances, library resources, annual use figures and technology. In addition, each annual PLDS report contains a special survey highlighting statistics on one service area or public library topic.

Pre-order your 2009 PLDS Statistical Report

• Click here to advance order the print version of the 2009 report. (PDF file, 190 kb)

2009 PLDS Online Database

• Click here to order the 2009 PLDS database subscription. (PDF file, 192 kb)

PLA is now offering access to the PLDS Online Database. The Online Database features a dynamic, Web-based format.

Online database users can:

• View PLDS tables, including summary and comparison tables, with searchable data exportable into Excel/CSV file formats, and linked data from other report sections.
• Access summary tables in interactive charts, Control how the information is displayed (line graph, bar graph, pie chart, etc.), and the types of calculations used. Compare information by legal service area and by state.
• Create customized PLDS datasets with user-defined data, calculations, charts, and other analysis that can be saved and exported into Excel/CSV file formats.
• Access historical PLDS databases beginning in 2006.

Available online at the ALA Store

2008 PLDS Statistical Report, includes a special survey on financial practices	2007 PLDS Statistical Report, includes a special survey on young adult services

Customized PLDS Statistical Reports

The data collected for the PLDS Statistical Report is versatile and can be manipulated to provide a customized report about how your library compares to other libraries. The basic fee is $100 for PLDS participants, $150 for non-participants, and includes a consultation, approximately one hour of data analysis, and preparation of a final report. Projects requiring additional time will be billed at an hourly rate of $100 for PLDS participants and $150 for non-participants.

If you are interested in learning more about customized reports, contact Virgil Varvel at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship, Library Research Center, at vvarvel@uiuc.edu or 217-333-1980.

For more information about the PLDS Statistical Report contact the PLA office at 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA or pla@ala.org.