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Put numbers to work for your library

Use statistics to build your case

One good way to get people’s attention is to surprise them with some impressive facts that are easy to repeat and remember. Libraries have plenty of awesome statistics, and we shouldn’t take them for granted. We also have smart reference librarians who can help gather and translate the numbers. We say translate because cold numbers alone won’t do the job. Statistics will tell a story when they include colorful comparisons, e.g. "Do you know we have more stores than McDonalds? There are more than 16,000 public libraries in the U.S." Then follow up with specifics about your library.

ALA has been producing wallet-sized "Quotable Facts" cards for many years (http://www.ala.org/Source/quotablefact.pdf). We encourage you to follow ALA’s good example and make a wallet-sized card with your own quotable facts for staff, trustees and Friends to carry with them. These quotable facts can be dropped into news releases and publications as well as conversations. Just be careful not to use too many. A few meaningful statistics are better than a long list.

As an example, to get you started, here are some quotable facts compiled by the Bay Area (Calif.) Library and Information System. Since media markets are usually larger than one community, it may make sense to use system-wide numbers. But you can also craft quotable facts for one library in one community.

We urge you to try this, if you haven’t already, and to share your quotable facts on the campaign elist. Subscribe by emailing athullen@ala.org, subject line: Subscribe me to the PLA Campaign News List. Please include your full name and contact information in the body of the message.

Check out how Bay Area libraries stack up!!!!

• Bay Area Libraries serve more than 17.1 million people in a year; which is enough people to fill SBC Park about 415 times.
• Bay Area Libraries loan more than 21 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs and other materials in a year, amounting to more than 6 items per person in the Bay Area.
• Bay Area Libraries provide over 225,000 hours of FREE Internet access on more than 1,100 public terminals in a year. 225,000 hours of Internet access at a copy center franchise would cost over $2.5 million dollars.
• Bay Area Libraries build literacy skills through summer reading programs that serve more than 60,000 children or 2,000 classrooms filled with 30 students.
• Bay Area Libraries provide more than 21,000 free programs a year, including concerts, book clubs, computer classes, story times which is more than 55 FREE programs a day.
• Bay Area Library users can connect to more than 8,500 magazines online, including national/local newspapers and journals, free of charge. Personal subscriptions to these items would amount to more than $35,000 dollars.

Source: Bay Area Library and Information System (BALIS), 2003

BALIS member libraries include….

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