• Number of Academic Libraries
• Services
• Collections
• Staff
• Expenditures

The data in this report cover all academic libraries in 2-year and 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, including institutions that are eligible for Title IV aid, branch campuses of Title IV-eligible institutions, and institutions that are eligible for Title IV aid, but for deferment only.

The tables in this publication summarize library services (including electronic services), library staff, library collections, and library expenditures for libraries in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Library staff data are for fall 2000. Library circulation and interlibrary loans are for fiscal year (FY) 2000. Other library services are for a typical week in the fall of 2000. Operating expenditures and library collections are for FY 2000. FY 2000 is defined as any 12-month period between June 1, 1999, and September 30, 2000, that corresponds to the institution's fiscal year.

In FY 2000, of the 3,923 2-year and 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, 3,527 reported in the NCES-sponsored ALS that they had their own academic library.² Of these 3,527 libraries, 87 percent responded to the ALS.

In FY 2000, academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States reported a total of about 194.0 million circulation transactions, including reserves.

In FY 2000, academic libraries provided a total of about 9.5 million interlibrary loans to other libraries (both academic libraries and other types of libraries) and received about 7.7 million loans.

Twenty-five libraries reported that they were open 168 hours a week, or 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Overall, the largest percentage of academic libraries (44 percent) reported providing 60 to 79 hours of public service per typical week in fall 2000. In addition, 40 percent provided 80 or more public service hours per typical week. The percentage of institutions providing 80 or more public service hours ranged from 6 percent in less-than-4-year institutions to 81 percent in doctorate-granting institutions.

In FY 2000, 94 percent of degree-granting postsecondary institutions with an academic library had access from within the library to an electronic catalog of the library's holdings, 99 percent had Internet access within the library, 73 percent had library reference service by e-mail within the library, and 72 percent had access to library reference service by e-mail from elsewhere on campus. Ninety-eight percent had instruction by library staff on the use of Internet resources within the library.

In FY 2000, 58 percent of academic libraries had technology within the library to assist persons with disabilities, and 49 percent had access to this service from elsewhere on campus. Ninety-four percent of academic libraries provided services to distance education students.

More than four-fifths (82 percent) of academic libraries had computers not dedicated to library functions for patron use inside the library. Less than one-fifth (18 percent) had video/desktop conferencing by or for the library within the library, and about one-fourth (26 percent) had access from elsewhere on campus. Twenty-one percent had satellite broadcasting by or for the library within the library, and 29 percent had access from elsewhere on campus.

Nearly one-half (49 percent) of academic libraries provided electronic document delivery to patrons' accounts.

• In total, academic libraries reported a gate count of about 16.5 million visitors per typical week in fall 2000 (about 1.6 visits per total full-time-equivalent [FTE] enrollment).³
• About 1.6 million reference transactions were reported in a typical week in fall 2000 by all academic libraries.
• In FY 2000, academic libraries reported about 432,000 presentations to groups serving about 7.5 million.

All together, the nation's 3,527 academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions reported inventories totaling 913.5 million paper volumes (books, bound serials, and government documents) at the end of FY 2000.

Of the total paper volumes held at the end of FY 2000, 43 percent (396.8 million) were held by 4 percent (126) of the institutions, which are those categorized under the Carnegie Classification as Research I or Research II institutions. Fifty-five percent of the volumes were at those institutions classified as either Research or Doctoral in the Carnegie Classification.

The median number of paper volumes held per FTE student was 53.2 volumes. Median volumes held ranged from 18.1 per FTE student in less-than-4-year institutions to 116.0 in doctorate-granting institutions.

In FY 2000, the median number of paper volumes added to collections per FTE student was 1.5. The median number added ranged from 0.7 per FTE student in less-than-4-year institutions to 2.7 in doctorate-granting institutions.

There was a total of 95,665 FTE staff working in academic libraries in FY 2000. Of these, 31,016 (32 percent) were librarians or other professional staff; 37,899 (40 percent) were other paid staff; 229 (less than one-half of 1 percent) were contributed services staff; and 26,521 (28 percent) were student assistants.

Excluding student assistants, the median number of academic library FTE staff per 1,000 FTE students was 5.6. The median ranged from 3.7 in less-than-4-year institutions to 8.5 in doctorate-granting institutions.

In FY 2000, total expenditures for the 3,527 libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions were $5.0 billion. The three largest expenditure items for all academic libraries were salaries and wages at $2.5 billion (50 percent); current paper and electronic serial subscriptions at $1.1 billion (23 percent); and paper books and bound serials at $552.1 million (11 percent).

The 568 libraries at doctorate-granting institutions (16 percent of the total institutions) accounted for $3.3 billion, or 65 percent of the total expenditure dollars at all academic libraries at degree-granting postsecondary institutions.

In FY 2000, the median amount for total operating expenditures per FTE student was $326.46, and the median for information resource expenditures was $90.91.

¹From 1988 to 1998, the ALS was a part of the IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) system. IPEDS is the U.S. Department of Education's vehicle for collecting data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States. Topics included within IPEDS are institutional characteristics, fall enrollment, completions, finance, faculty salaries, and fall staff. Beginning in the year 2000, the ALS began collecting data independent from the IPEDS data collection; however, data from the ALS can still be linked to IPEDS data using the institution's UNITID number. IPEDS also provides the frame used in the ALS.

²The remaining 396 2-year and 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States were not identified as having their own library either because they shared a library with 1 or more of 88 other institutions (156 institutions) or because they did not have an academic library as defined by the survey and were therefore out of scope (240 institutions). The 88 institutions that share their libraries are included in the 3,527 institutions that report having their own academic library.

³FTE enrollment is calculated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment. Enrollment data are from the 1998–99 IPEDS "Fall Enrollment Survey." Calculations are based on a total FTE enrollment of 10,316,579.