• Introduction
• Highlights

This report contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for state fiscal year 1997. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (STLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative effort between the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The FY 1997 STLA Survey is the fourth in the series.

A state library agency is the official agency of a state charged by the law of that state with the extension and development of public library services throughout the state, which has adequate authority under law of the state to administer state plans in accordance with the provisions of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) (P.L. 101-254, as amended). Beyond these two essential roles, these agencies vary greatly. They are located in various departments of state government and report to different authorities. They are involved in various ways in the development and operation of electronic information networks. They provide different types of services to different types of libraries.

STLAs are increasingly receiving broader legislative mandates affecting libraries of all types in the states (i.e., public, academic, school, special, and library systems). For example, their administrative and developmental responsibilities under LSCA Title III (Interlibrary Cooperation and Resource Sharing) affect the operation of thousands of public, academic, school, and special libraries in the nation. STLAs provide important reference and information services to state government and administer the state library and special operations such as state archives, libraries for the blind and physically handicapped, and the State Center for the Book. The STLA may also function as the state's public library at large, providing service to the general public and state government employees. This report provides information on the variety of roles being played by such agencies and the various combinations of fiscal, human, and informational resources invested in such work.

The STLA Survey provides state and federal policymakers, researchers, and other interested users with descriptive information about STLA sin the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey also collects data on STLA services and financial assistance to local public libraries which, when added to the data collected by the NCES Public Libraries Survey, will help complete the national picture of public library service. NCES also conducts surveys of academic, school, and federal libraries, and of library cooperatives. Together, these data collections will contribute to a comprehensive national profile of libraries and information services.

The STLA Survey is conducted in compliance with the NCES mission "to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistics and other information related to education in the United States…," P.L. 103-382, Title IV, National Education Statistics Act of 1994, Sec. 404 (a).

Nearly all state library agencies (48 states and the District of Columbia) are located in the executive branch of government. Of these, over 65 percent are part of a larger agency, the most common being the state department of education. In two states, Arizona and Michigan, the agency reports to the legislature.

A total of 16 state library agencies reported having one or more allied operations. Allied operations most frequently linked with a state library agency are the state archives (10 states) and the state records management service (11 states). Fifteen state agencies contract with public or academic libraries in their states to serve as resource or reference/information service centers. Eighteen state agencies operate a State Center for the Book.¹

All state library agencies plan or monitor electronic network development; 42 states and the District of Columbia operate such networks; and 46 states and the District of Columbia develop network content. All 50 states are involved in facilitating library access to the Internet in one or more of the following ways: training library staff or consulting in the use of the Internet; providing a subsidy for Internet participation; providing equipment needed to access the Internet; providing access to directories, databases, or online catalogs; or managing gopher/Web sites, file servers, bulletin boards, or listservs.

Services to public libraries. Every state library agency provides these types of services to public libraries: administration of LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act) grants, collection of library statistics, and library planning, evaluation, and research. Nearly every state library agency provides consulting services and continuing education programs. Services to public libraries provided by at least three-quarters of state agencies include administration of state aid, interlibrary loan referral services, library legislation preparation or review, literacy program support, reference referral services, state standards or guidelines, summer reading program support, and union list development. Over three-fifths of state agencies provide Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Group Access Capability (GAC) to public libraries and statewide public relations or library promotion campaigns. Less common services to public libraries include accreditation of libraries, certification of librarians, cooperative purchasing of library materials, preservation/conservation services, and retrospective conversion of bibliographic records.

Services to academic libraries. At least two-thirds of state library agencies report the following services to the academic library sector: administration of LSCA Title III grants, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral services, reference referral services, and union list development. Less common services to academic libraries include cooperative purchasing of library materials, literacy program support, preservation/conservation, retrospective conversion, and state standards or guidelines. No state library agency accredits academic libraries; only Washington State certifies academic librarians.

Services to school library media centers. At least two-thirds of all state library agencies provide continuing education, interlibrary loan referral services, and reference referral services to school library media centers (LMCs). Services to LMCs provided by at least half of all state agencies include administration of LSCA Title III grants, consulting services, and union list development. Less common services to LMCs include administration of state aid, cooperative purchasing of library materials, and retrospective conversion. No state library agency accredits LMCs or certifies LMC librarians.

Services to special libraries. Over two-thirds of state agencies serve special libraries²through administration of LSCA grants, consulting services, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral, reference referral, and union list development. Less common services to special libraries include administration of state aid, cooperative purchasing of library materials, and summer reading program support. Only Nebraska accredits special libraries and only Washington State certifies librarians of special libraries.

Services to systems. At least three-fifths of state agencies serve library systems³through administration of LSCA grants, consulting services, continuing education, interlibrary loan referral, library legislation preparation or review, reference referral, and library planning, evaluation, and research. Accreditation of systems is provided by only six states, and certification of librarians by only seven states.

State library agencies reported a total of 153 service outlets. Main or central outlets and other outlets (excluding bookmobiles) each accounted for 47.1 percent of the total, and bookmobiles represented 5.9 percent of the total.

The number of books and serial volumes held by state library agencies totaled 22.4 million, with New York accounting for the largest collection (2.4 million). Five state agencies had book and serial volumes of over one million. In other states, these collections ranged from 500,000 to one million (12 states); 200,000 to 499,999 (10 states); 100,000 to 199,999 (10 states); 50,000 to 99,999 (6 states); and under 50,000 (6 states). The state library agency in Maryland does not maintain a collection, and the District of Columbia does not maintain a collection in its function as a state library agency.

The number of serial subscriptions held by state library agencies totaled over 84,000, with New York holding the largest number (over 14,300). Ten state agencies reported serial subscriptions of over 2,000. In other states, these collections ranged from 1,000 to 1,999 (6 states), 500 to 999 (18 states), 100 to 499 (13 states), and under 100 (one state). The state library agencies in Maryland and the District of Columbia do not maintain collections.

The total number of budgeted full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions in state library agencies was 3,762. Librarians with ALA-MLS degrees⁴accounted for 1,206 of these positions, or 32.1 percent of total FTE positions. Rhode Island reported the largest percentage (57.1) of ALA-MLS librarians, and Virginia reported the lowest (16.3 percent).

State library agencies reported a total income of $847.1 million in FY 1997 (83.1 percent from state sources, 15.4 percent from federal, and 1.5percent from other sources). Of state library agency income received from state sources, over $477 million (67.8 percent) was designated for state aid to libraries. Seven states had over 75 percent of their income from state sources set aside for state aid. Georgia had the largest percentage of state library agency income set aside for state aid (97.4 percent). Six states and the District of Columbia targeted no state funds for aid to libraries. Hawaii, Iowa, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia had all of their state income set aside for operation of the state agency.⁵

State library agencies reported total expenditures of $822.2 million. The largest percentage (83.6 percent) was from state funds, followed by federal funds (15.3 percent) and other funds (1.1 percent). In five states, over 90 percent of total expenditures were from state sources. These states were Georgia (94.7 percent), Massachusetts (93.5 percent), Illinois (92.4 percent), New York (92.0 percent), and Maryland (91.9 percent). Utah had the lowest percentage of expenditures from state sources (59.2 percent).

Almost 70 percent of total state library expenditures were for financial assistance to libraries, with the largest percentages expended on individual public libraries (53.1 percent) and public library systems (16.4 percent). Most of the expenditures for financial assistance to libraries were from state sources (86.2 percent), while 13.6 percent were from federal sources.

Fifteen state library agencies reported expenditures for allied operations. These expenditures totaled over $24.0 million and represented 2.9 percent of total expenditures by state library agencies. Of states reporting such expenditures, Texas had the highest expenditure ($3.3 million) and Vermont the lowest ($398,000).⁶

Twenty-seven state library agencies reported a total of over $16.7 million in grants and contracts expenditures to assist public libraries with state education reform initiatives or the National Education Goals. The area of adult literacy accounted for the largest proportion of such expenditures (47.7 percent), followed by the areas of lifelong learning (34.9 percent) and readiness for school (17.4 percent). Three state agencies (Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania) focused such expenditures exclusively on readiness for school projects, and five state agencies (Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Utah) focused their expenditures exclusively on adult literacy projects. In four state agencies (Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, and South Carolina), over two-thirds of such expenditures were for lifelong learning projects.

² A special library is a library in a business firm, professional association, government agency, or other organized group; a library that is maintained by a parent organization to serve a specialized clientele; or an independent library that may provide materials or services, or both, to the public, a segment of the public, or other libraries. Scope of collections and services are limited to the subject interests of the host or parent institution. Special libraries include libraries in state institutions.

³ A system is a group of autonomous libraries joined together by formal or informal agreements to perform various services cooperatively, such as resource sharing, communications, etc. Systems include multitype library systems and public library systems, but not multiple outlets under the same administration.

⁴ These are paid librarians with Master of Library Science degrees from programs accredited by the American Library Association.

⁵ The District of Columbia Public Library functions as a state library agency and is eligible for federal LSCA funds in this capacity. The state library agency in Hawaii is associated with the Hawaii State Public Library System and operates all public libraries within its jurisdiction. The state funds for aid to libraries for these two agencies are reported on the NCES Public Libraries Survey, rather than on the STLA Survey, because of the unique situation of these two state agencies and in order to eliminate duplicative reporting of these data.

⁶ Although Alaska reported allied operations, the expenditures for such operations are not from the state library agency budget.

Data source: The FY 1997 State Library Agencies (STLA) Survey. For technical information, see the complete report: Kroe, P.E. (1999). State Library Agencies: Fiscal Year1997 (NCES 1999-304). Author affiliation: P.E. Kroe, NCES. For questions about content, contact P. Elaine Kroe (patricia.kroe@ed.gov). To obtain the complete report (NCES 1999-304), call the toll-free ED Pubs number (877-433-7827), visit the NCES Web Site (http://nces.ed.gov), or contact GPO (202-512-1800).