Maurice Coleman suggested that the resources from episode 272 are so important to know about that they be in their own blog post.
As library staff or as library supporters, you need to know that data is collected every year by IMLS about every public library outlet in the U.S., including U.S. territories. The data is then made available on the IMLS website. This data can be downloaded in a variety of formats, including as massive spreadsheets. That means that you can look at this data yourself.
Besides the report by Jill Hurst-Wahl, EveryLibrary Institute has also used this data. They have created a library funding map, which is linked below.
Resources
- Public Library Survey Data: Some Answers, Many Questions (report)
- IMLS Public Library Survey Data
- EveryLibrary Institute – The EveryLibrary Institute [501(c)4] is dedicated to ensuring continued public and political support for library funding.
- EveryLibrary Institute Library Funding Map
- EveryLibrary – EveryLibrary [501(c)4] helps public, school, and college libraries win bonding, tax, and advisory referendum, ensuring stable funding and access to libraries for generations to come.
- Measures that Matter – an initiative begun in 2016 to help coordinate a field-wide conversation around library data collection with the aim to develop and implement a related action plan.
T is for Training 