BIBLIOSTAT CONNECT

Easy online access to public library statistics from your state library

This information is also available as a printable brochure in .PDF

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WHAT IS BIBLIOSTAT CONNECT?

Bibliostat Connect is a powerful web-based software program, with on-line tutorials and help screens throughout, that offers access to public library statistics.
The State Library worked with New York’s Public Library System Directors’ Organization (PULISDO) and Baker and Taylor to customize Bibliostat Connect for New York’s tremendous warehouse of public library data.

WHERE IS BIBLIOSTAT CONNECT?

New York's public library data are available via the New York State Library web site at:
www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/

WHAT DOES BIBLIOSTAT CONNECT OFFER?

Bibliostat Connect offers library managers and trustees:

Easy access and manipulation of 28 years of New York’s public library data (1991-2019).
Quick creation of rank order tables and colorful graphs, viewing of averages and percentiles, and organization of the results into a report or presentation.
Free access to the latest national data from the Public Library Association’s Public Library Data Service (PLDS), the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ Public Libraries Survey (PLS) (previously known as Public Library Statistics Cooperative for Public Library Data [PLSC]) and the LJ Index of Public Library Service.
Free access to comparative statistics about libraries across the country through a module that utilizes U.S. Census Bureau data. This includes statistics for income, education, age, ethnicity and more.

sample graph generated by Bibliostat Connect

THERE'S MORE...

Bibliostat Connect permits users to select and compare public library statistics in three different ways:

Alphabetically - If you already know the libraries you would like to compare, this option allows you to choose libraries by name.
By Peers - Selecting libraries by peers is one of the most powerful features of Connect. Using this feature, you can quickly create a list of all libraries that meet criteria you define.
By Benchmarks - Benchmarks are statistical calculations based on groups of libraries that you define. An example of a benchmark would be the state average for the data element.

Bibliostat Connect allows libraries to identify peer libraries and compare public libraries within New York and across the country on hundreds of different measures, including:

Circulation, attendance and registered borrowers
Library collections and services
Income, expenditures, staffing, salaries and benefits

Bibliostat Connect also offers online tutorials and help screens throughout the program to assist the user in navigating the software.

Bibliostat Connect allows you to quickly create rank order tables and colorful charts and graphs.

[graphic showing a computer user viewing an on-screen chart]

Public library staff and trustees can use this important data to benchmark the local library’s progress in keeping up with trends and clearly show how the library compares with other libraries of similar size and demographic characteristics.

Comprehensive data about New York State's 756 public libraries and their 312 branches are available via the New York State Library web site.

WHAT DATA ARE AVAILABLE?

Bibliostat Connect allows users to access hundreds of statistical data elements including:

Expenditures
Income
Staff
Holdings
Circulation
Interlibrary loans
Demographics
And more…

For more information on Bibliostat Connect and the New York State Library:

Visit the New York State Library web site,
or contact Jane Minotti at the New York State Library's Division of Library Development: 518-486-4858

The New York State Library's Public Library Data Collection and Dissemination Program is supported by Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.