Library Operating Expenditures: A Selected Annotated Bibliography
ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 4
This fact sheet describes sources of information on library revenues and operating expenditures in public, academic, and school libraries.
In regards to special libraries and government libraries: The Library and Book Trade Almanac™ 2011 (formerly The Bowker Annual) includes total acquisitions expenditures for various "categories of expenditure," including books and other print materials, periodicals and serials, AV (audiovisual) equipment and materials, microforms, and electronic reference, for public, academic, special, and government libraries, reported individually for all 50 states (along with regions administered by the USA, including the District of Columbia). The information comes from the American Library Directory (ALD) 2010-2011 and includes only those libraries that reported annual acquisition expenditures (1,798 public libraries, 768 academic libraries, 136 special libraries, and 44 government libraries). It is currently published by Information Today, Inc.
All of the sources mentioned in this fact sheet are revised periodically, most often annually. This fact sheet describes the most recent version available at this writing. The reader is advised to look for revisions of each source as they may appear.
Public Libraries
The most comprehensive national statistics on the over 9000 public libraries in the U.S. are reported in the Public Library Survey (PLS) series that currently comes out of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the federal library (and museum) agency. The latest in the series is Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2009 (2011), published in October of 2011, which shows operating expenditures for the nation -- in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The extensive Findings summary on pages 16-44 of the 233-page Adobe Reader PDF version linked there notes --
-- Most public libraries (85.3 percent) are public agencies connected to some form of local government. In FY2009, 52.9 percent of public libraries were part of a municipal government, 14.7 percent were part of a separate government entity referred to as a library district, 9.8 percent were part of a county or parish, 3.4 percent had a multi-jurisdictional legal basis under an intergovernmental agreement, 2.0 percent were part of a school district, 1.0 percent were part of a city/county, and 1.5 percent reported a legal basis of "other". The remaining 14.8 percent of public libraries were operated by nonprofit associations or agencies, which means that although they were privately controlled, they met the legal definition of a public library in the states in which they were located (Table 5. Percentage distribution of public libraries, by type of legal basis and state: Fiscal year 2009, is on pages 68-69). -- Total revenue for U.S. public libraries was $11.59 billion in FY2009, a 1.8 percent increase over FY2008 and a 10-year increase of 50.5 percent (Figure 30 on p.37). Total expenditures were $10.95 billion in FY2009, which were an increase of 2.1 percent from FY2008 and a 10-year increase of 55.8 percent. Total revenue and expenses per capita have also evidenced an increasing trend over 10 years (Figure 31 on p.38). In FY2009, total revenue per capita was $39.01, a 10-year increase of 8.8 percent; total expenditures per capita were $36.84, a 10-year increase of 12.6 percent. Locality analyses indicate that much of the financial metrics are driven by urban and suburban public libraries (Figure 32 on p.39). Public libraries in suburban areas had the highest levels of per capita revenue and expenditures in FY2009, at $44.50 and $42.10, respectively, both of which were 14 percent above the national average. Public libraries in towns and rural areas had the lowest levels of per capital revenue and expenditures. There was also diversity in the levels of per capita revenue and expenditures at the state level (Figure 33 on p.39). On average states invested, through total revenue, $38.59 per person into public libraries; this funding ranged across states from a low of $16.46 per person to a high of $77.34 per person. -- The 10 years of the study period showed a change in funding patterns for public libraries in the United States (Figure 34 on p.40). Funding from local government to the operating revenue of public libraries was $9.76 billion in FY2009, an increase of 32.8 percent since FY2000 (in constant 2009 dollars). In contrast, funding from state government to public library operating revenue was $0.87 billion in FY2009, a decrease of 28.4 percent over 10 years. These changes, an increase in revenue from local governments and a decrease from states, are concomitant with changes in the proportion of operating revenue coming from all sources. The percentage of total operating revenue coming from local sources has changed from 77.0 percent in FY2000 to 84.2 percent in FY2009, a 10-year increase of 9.2 percent. In contrast, the portion of contributions from state sources has decreased from 12.8 percent in FY2000 to 7.5 percent in FY2009, a 10-year decrease of 41.1 percent. -- This distribution of funding varies widely from state to state. In many states, public libraries received more than 90 percent of their 2009 revenue from local governments (Figure 35 on p.41). However, 7 states, including West Virginia and Rhode Island, received less than 70 percent of their annual revenue from local sources. The converse is seen in the distribution of revenue from state governments. In the majority of states, state-level government funds less than 5 percent of public library operating revenues (Figure 36 on p.41). In the ten states that had contributions of less than one percent to annual revenue, contributions from local governments to the FY2009 operating revenues were 90 percent or higher. However, there were nine states, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, in which state governments provided over 10 percent of the annual revenue to public libraries in FY2009, ranging from levels of 12.6 to 88.7 percent.
On pages 120-121 of the 233-page PDF version of the report is Table 18. Total operating revenue of public libraries and percentage distribution of revenue, by source of revenue and state: Fiscal year 2009, which reports that an estimated 84.2 percent of public libraries' total operating revenue of $11.6 billion came from local sources; 7.5 percent from state sources; 0.4 percent from federal sources; and 7.9 percent from other sources, such as monetary gifts and donations, interest, library fines, fees, and grants.
On pages 132-133 is Table 21. Total operating expenditures of public libraries and percentage distribution of expenditures, by type of expenditure and state: Fiscal year 2009, which reports that the total operating expenditures for public libraries were $10.95 billion in FY 2009. Of this, 66.6 percent was expended for paid staff and 12 percent for the library collection. The remaining 21.4 percent was used on a variety of "Other" expenditures, which includes all expenditures other than those for staff and collection, such as binding, supplies, repair or replacement of existing furnishings and equipment, and costs of computer hardware and software used to support library operations or to link to external networks, including the Internet; also includes expenditures for contracts for services, such as costs of operating and maintaining physical facilities, and fees paid to a consultant, auditor, architect, attorney, etc...
On pages 140-141 is Table 23. Total collection expenditures of public libraries and percentage distribution of expenditures, by type of expenditure and state: Fiscal year 2009, which reports total collection expenditures of $1.3 billion. Of that amount, 67.8 percent was expended for print materials; 12 percent was expended for electronic materials, such as e-books, e-serials (including journals), government documents, databases (including locally mounted, full text or not), electronic files, reference tools, scores, maps, or pictures in electronic or digital format, including materials digitized by the library, which can be distributed on magnetic tape, diskettes, computer software, CD-ROM, or other portable digital carrier, and can be accessed via a computer, via access to the Internet, or by using an e-book reader, and includes expenditures for materials held locally and for remote electronic materials for which permanent or temporary access rights have been acquired, and also includes expenditures for database licenses; and 20.2 percent for "Other materials," such as microform, audio, video, DVD, and materials in new formats.
On pages 144-145 is Table 24. Percentage distribution of public libraries, by total operating expenditures and state: Fiscal year 2009, which reported that twenty-three percent of public libraries had operating expenditures of less than $50,000; 42 percent expended $50,000 to $399,999; and thirty-five percent expended $400,000 or more.
The Public Library Data Service (PLDS) Statistical Report 2011 is the latest edition of the annual survey of public libraries sponsored by ALA's Public Library Association (PLA, a division of ALA). With responses from a random sampling of nearly 1,500 public libraries across the country, including most of those serving populations of 100,000 or more, and all two dozen or so of the public libraries that serve populations of 1,000,000 or more, this report gives statistics per library on the various sources of income (local, state, federal, other), operating expenditures categories (salaries, benefits, materials, other), and operating expenditures measures, including expenditure dollars per capita.
As mentioned above, public library materials expenditure data that appears in the The Library and Book Trade Almanac™ 2011 (formerly The Bowker Annual) comes from the 1,798 public libraries that reported this information in the American Library Directory (ALD) 2010-2011; both titles are published by Information Today, Inc. National and state totals are shown in the article, "Library Acquisition Expenditures, 2009-2010: U.S. Public, Academic, Special, and Government Libraries," which appears on pages 413-421, for the following categories of expenditure: books, other print materials, periodicals/serials, manuscripts & archives, audiovisual equipment, audiovisual materials, microforms, electronic reference, and preservation.
For trend information on public library expenditures, see The Condition of U.S. Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009 (PDF) -- and there is also The Condition of U.S. Libraries: Public Library Trends, 2002-2009 report (PDF) -- which were both prepared by Denise M. Davis, Director, ALA Office for Research and Statistics (ORS). Also see the article, "Library Purchasing Power Has Held Steady Over Time" by Robert E. Molyneux, which appears on pages 388-395 of the The Library and Book Trade Almanac™ 2010.
For trend information on public library funding, see the report prepared by Davis in 2006, Funding Issues in U.S. Public Libraries, Fiscal Years 2003-2006 (PDF). And then see the now annual project out of ALA's Office for Research and Statistics, the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study. More about this annual study appears on ALA Library Fact Sheet 6 - Public Library Use. Reproduced in The Library and Book Trade Almanac™ 2010 on pages 396-405 is the March 2010 Issue Brief of the study, A Perfect Storm Brewing: Budget Cuts Threaten Library Services at Time of Increased Demand.
Academic/College and University Libraries
National statistical reports on academic libraries do not show sources of revenue. For the most part, an academic library's revenues come from the parent institution. And as noted in the original questionnaire for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) report below, other possible monetary sources include research grants, special projects, gifts and endowments, and fees for service. The most recent national statistics on the nearly 4000 college and university libraries across the nation were collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and published in January 2010 in Academic Libraries: 2008 First Look (2010). Operating expenditures are shown for salaries & wages; collections and information resources (both electronic and audiovisual), including document delivery/interlibrary loan and preservation; and equipment, including computer hardware and software. Data is sorted by highest level of degree offered, by Carnegie category, by size of full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment, and by control (private vs. public institutions). The "Selected Findings" summary in the beginning of the Adobe Reader PDF version notes --
-- Academic libraries' expenditures totaled approximately $6.8 billion during FY 2008 (table 8).
-- During FY 2008, academic libraries spent about $3.3 billion on salaries and wages, representing approximately 49 percent of total library expenditures (table 9).
-- Academic libraries spent about $2.7 billion on information resources during FY 2008 (table 9).
-- Academic libraries spent approximately $133.6 million for electronic books, serial backfiles, and other materials in FY 2008 (table 10). Expenditures for electronic current serial subscriptions were about $1.0 billion.
-- During FY 2008, academic libraries spent approximately $113.4 million for bibliographic utilities, networks, and consortia (table 11). Approximately $157.7 million was spent on computer hardware and software, and $508.3 was spent on other operating expenditures.
Released annually by ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL, a division of ALA), the ACRL 2009 Academic Library Trends and Statistics is the latest edition of the annual survey of academic libraries compiled by the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Data from over 1500 academic libraries is reported, with expenditures numbers (library materials, electronic serials, computer hardware and software, salaries and wages, etc.) and electronic expenditures numbers (computer files, electronic serials, computer hardware and software, and document delivery/interlibrary loan). New for 2011 is ACRL Metrics, an on-line service providing access to ACRL and NCES academic library statistics from 2000 to 2009.
Expenditures data for over 100 of the largest academic libraries in the U.S. and Canada is available from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in their annual publication, ARL Statistics, which reports on monographs/volumes, current serials, and other library materials; electronic resources, both one-time and ongoing purchases; contract binding; salaries and wages; and other operating expenditures.
As mentioned above, academic library materials expenditure data that appears in the The Library and Book Trade Almanac™ 2011 (formerly The Bowker Annual) comes from the 768 academic libraries that reported this information in the American Library Directory (ALD) 2010-2011; both titles are published by Information Today, Inc. National and state totals are shown in the article, "Library Acquisition Expenditures, 2009-2010: U.S. Public, Academic, Special, and Government Libraries," which appears on pages 413-421, for the following categories of expenditure: books, other print materials, periodicals/serials, manuscripts & archives, audiovisual equipment, audiovisual materials, microforms, electronic reference, and preservation.
School Libraries
Like academic libraries, school libraries rely primarily on their parent institution for financial support. The latest nation-wide expenditures figures for school library media centers in public and BIE (Bureau of Indian Education) schools come from 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 of the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Schools and Staffing Survey, published in June 2009. The "Selected Findings" summary in the beginning of the Adobe Reader PDF version notes --
-- During the 2006-07 school year, BIE-funded library media centers spent an average of $7,800 on books, traditional public school library media centers spent an average of $6,630 on books, and public charter school library media centers spent an average of $6,210 on books (table 4). BIE-funded library media centers spent an average of $760 on audio/video materials, traditional public school library media centers spent an average of $630 on audio/video materials, and public charter school library media centers spent an average of $600 on audio/video materials.
Expenditures figures for school library media centers in private schools come from 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, which indicates $29.02 total expenditures for library/media materials per pupil for private schools 1999-2000 (more recent library media center data for private schools have not been collected because of NCES budget constraints). Compare with Table 427. Selected statistics on public school libraries/media centers, by level of school: 1999-2000, 2003-04, and 2007-08 from the 2010 Digest of Education Statistics, which indicates $23.37 total expenditures for library/media materials per pupil for 1999-2000 -- and indicates $16.11 total expenditures for library/media materials per pupil for 2007-2008.
Since 1983 School Library Journal has published a series of biennial reports summarizing expenditures for public and private library media centers (LMC) in the United States based on a survey of its subscribers. The latest such report, School Library Journal's Spending Survey, appeared in the March 2011 issue and was compiled by Lesley Farmer. This 2011 edition -- compiled from 833 responses that broke out as being about 98% public schools with the remainder working in charter school libraries, and less than a handful working in private schools -- is subtitled, "As the economy limps along and federal dollars dwindle, school librarians are turning into resourceful survivors." Table 1 - Comparison of Mean and Median Expenditures for All Resources and Funding Sources: 2009-2010 - reports local, federal, and fund-raising/gift funds figures. In the section under the heading, Disappearing dollars, beleaguered budgets is Table 2 - Student Enrollment, Median Library Books, Acquisitions, and Budgets: 2009-2010 - which reports a Total Budget (median) of $5,177 for Elementary school, K-8; $6,023 for Middle school; and $12,485 for High school, K-12. This section notes: "Although some states, such as North Carolina and Texas, saw new K–12 schools sprout up and receive sizeable financial support, for the most part, states were scrambling for money. In general, the West fared worst. For that reason, both the mean and median figures are reported in table 1. Generally, federal funding failed to relieve strained site budgets, which suggests a greater reliance on local discretionary allocations and fund-raising as the recession dries up donors' pockets... Some differences in budgets by grade level and region are shown in table 2."
