The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has published the dataset from the 2017 Public Libraries Survey. This provides a look at public library use, financial health, staffing, and resources from reporting year 2017.
Highlights in this report:
- There were over 1.3 billion visits to libraries by 55% of those who lived in an area serviced by a public library.
- Programs and program attendance increased significantly over 2016. There were 5.6 million programs attended by 118 million children, young adults and adults.
- Electronic resources continue to grow, and their popularity has increased. Public libraries offered over 463.5 million e-books to their patrons.
For over 30 years, IMLS has published this information collected from over 9,000 public library systems representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories.
To see more library statistics, many specific to Wyoming, visit the Wyoming State Library’s Statistics page. For assistance, contact Thomas Ivie, WSL Research & Statistics Librarian, at thomas.ivie@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6330.