Number of Libraries in the United States
ALA Library Fact Sheet 1
There are an estimated 121,169 libraries of all kinds in the United States today.
No single annual survey provides statistics on all types of libraries. Figures for public, academic, and school libraries come from surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), while the others come from Information Today's American Library Directory.
Specifically, the public libraries numbers come from the IMLS Public Library Survey, from the latest report in the series, Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2010 (2013). Please be aware of the following change: Previous IMLS PLS reports had included "public libraries that do not meet all the criteria in the FSCS [Federal-State Cooperative System] Public Library Definition...
However, beginning with the FY 2010 report, the 290 non-FSCS libraries are excluded from the tables, for a total of 8,951 public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.Full details on this change appear in Note 3. Public Libraries in the United States Survey, FY 2010 in Appendix B. Technical Notes.
The numbers for academic and school libraries come from the NCES Schools and Staffing Survey and the Library Statistics Program surveys: Academic Libraries: 2010 First Look (2011); Characteristics of Public and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey for the number of school library media centers in public and BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) schools; and Table 421. Selected statistics on school libraries/media centers, by control and level of school: 1999-2000 and 2003-04 from the 2008 Digest of Education Statistics for the number of school library media centers in private schools (more recent library media center data for private schools have not been collected because of NCES budget constraints).
Figures for special libraries, armed forces libraries, and government libraries come from the American Library DirectoryTM 2012-2013, which is a two-volume set currently published by Information Today, Inc. now in its 65th edition
|
Public Libraries (administrative units) |
8,951 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Buildings* | 8,770 | ||
| Branch Buildings | 7,647 | ||
| Total Buildings | 16,698 | ||
|
Academic Libraries |
3,689 |
||
| Less than four-year | 1,326 | ||
| Four-year and above | 2,363 | ||
|
School Libraries |
99,180 |
||
| Public schools | 81,920 | ||
| Private schools | 17,100 | ||
| BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) | 160 | ||
|
Special Libraries** |
8,014 | ||
|
Armed Forces Libraries |
275 | ||
|
Government Libraries |
1,060 | ||
|
Total |
121,169 |
* The number of central buildings is different from the number of public libraries because some public library systems have no central building and some have more than one. Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2010 (2013) specifically explains in a footnote to Table 3: "Of the 8,951 public libraries in the 50 States and DC, 7,205 were single-outlet libraries and 1,746 were multiple-outlet libraries. Single-outlet libraries are a central library, bookmobile, or books-by-mail-only outlet. Multiple-outlet libraries have two or more direct service outlets, including some combination of one central library, branch(es), bookmobile(s), and/or books-by-mail-only outlets."
* * Special libraries include Corporate, Medical, Law, Religious, etc.
NOTE from American Library DirectoryTM 2011-2012 (page viii): "Branch records for academic and government libraries are no longer counted within these breakdowns, causing some discrepancy when comparing figures with previous editions. This does not affect the total number of libraries listed in the American Library DirectoryTM." Please contact Lauri Rimler at Information Today, Inc. with any questions regarding this. This difference was initially reported and took effect in the 2010-2011 edition.
For the purposes of ALA Library Fact Sheet 1, this counting difference actually most affected the American Library Directory's Total Special Libraries number; the 2009-2010 edition reported 8,906 Total Special Libraries, while the 2010-2011 edition reported 8,476 Total Special Libraries, the 2011-2012 edition reported 8,313 Total Special Libraries, and the 2012-2013 edition reported 8,014 Total Special Libraries.
Additional questions about libraries in the United States might be answered on one of these fact sheets: ALA Library Fact Sheet 2 - Number Employed in Libraries, ALA Library Fact Sheet 3 - Lists of Libraries and ALA Library Fact Sheet 5 - Marketing to Libraries, and ALA Library Fact Sheet 22 - The Nation's Largest Libraries. A Listing By Volumes Held.
Last updated: February 2013
For more information on this or other fact sheets, contact the ALA Library Reference Desk by telephone: 800-545-2433, extension 2153; fax: 312-280-3255; e-mail: library@ala.org; or regular mail: ALA Library, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611.
