New York's Libraries: How They STACK UP!

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New York's libraries are good for the ECONOMY


Libraries as:
 Economic Engines | Information Suppliers | Valued Destinations | Home to a Vibrant & Sizable Profession

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


Libraries as Economic Engines

Library expenditures:

  • Estimated annual New York State library expenditures: $1.9 billion

(Does not include nonpublic school library expenditures)

  • Estimated annual U.S. library expenditures: $15 billion


New York State's libraries account for about 12.5% of the $15 billion spent annually by libraries nationwide.


Value of library services:

  • State Aid to New York State's public library systems: $78 million
  • Estimated value of services provided by New York State's public library systems: $1 billion

For every $1 of State Aid that New York State's public library systems receive, public library users receive approximately $13 in services.


$$ value of NOVELNY:

NOVELNY - New York Online Virtual Electronic Library Home
  • For every $1 spent in temporary Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library (NOVELNY) provides $35 in NOVELNY information resources.
  • NOVELNY saves libraries more than $87 million through centralized licensing.
  • NOVELNY, available to all New Yorkers, contains approximately 6,000 information resources. New Yorkers can access magazines, newspapers, journals, photos, maps and more via the NOVELNY databases.

Libraries as Information Suppliers

More than 7,000 libraries in New York:

  • Public libraries:
755
  
  • Academic libraries:
261
  
  • School libraries:
5,378
  
  • Institution Libraries:
200
  
  • New York State Library:
1
  

(Does not include over 1000 special libraries)

  • More than 27 million reference questions are asked by customers each year in New York State's public libraries.
  • Almost 13,500 public computers connected to the Internet are available in New York State's public libraries.

$$ value of library books:

New York's libraries hold more than 245 million volumes statewide — that's more than 12 items for each person living in New York State.


  • Public library volumes:

    ($50 avg. cost of book)

$3.5 billion
  • Academic library volumes:

    ($62 avg. cost of academic book)

$5.4 billion
  • School library volumes:

    ($21 avg. cost of juvenile book)

$1.2 billion

At an average price of $50 per book, the statewide library book inventory is worth about $10.8 billion.


Number of items circulated:

  • Public libraries in New York circulate 143.6 million items per year.
  • Academic libraries in New York circulate 16.6 million items per year.

New York State's academic and public libraries circulate 160.2 million items per year.


Libraries as Valued Destinations

Number of library users:

  • Registered public library users:
10.8 million
  • Population of New York State:
19 million

More than 50% of New Yorkers are registered public library users.


Library visit comparison:

  • New York State public library visits:
113 million
  • New York State professional sports attendance:

(Based on regular season ticket sales)

10 million

11 times more people visit New York State's public libraries each year than attend New York State's professional baseball, basketball, football and hockey games.

Libraries Vs. Wal-Marts:

  • Public libraries in New York State:
755
  • Wal-Marts in New York State:
93

Library Volumes Vs. Registered Vehicles:

  • Volumes in New York State libraries:
245 million
  • Vehicles registered in New York State:
10.5 million

New York has 23 times more library volumes than registered cars, trucks, motorcycles and mopeds.


Libraries as Home to a Vibrant and Sizable Profession

Number of librarians:

  • Total number of librarians in New York State:
12,790

Librarians in New York State deliver nearly 26 million hours of service each year.
(12,790 x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks)


Sources:

Revised October 2008. Adapted from Libraries: How They Stack Up. © 2003 OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Adapted with OCLC's permission.

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

Last Updated: December 8, 2011