605-394-4171
Ÿ www.rapidcitylibrary.org
Date: November 25, 2006
To: RCPL Trustees
From: G. Chapman
Re: 2005 Public Library
Association (PLA) Annual Statistics: comparison of
cities
of similar size
The Public Library Data Service Statistical Report is an annual report
published by the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library
Association. This data is part of the planning process for the Rapid City
Public Library Strategic Plan.
The information included in
this memo is the annual PLA report. The data in the report is based upon the
year previous and would be the 2005 data. The document is published in July of each
year. This report compiles comparative data from libraries around the country,
based on a variety of budgetary and service measures.
Comparisons are made with
libraries of similar configurations: within a 20% population range (up to 10%
higher population and 10% lower), and libraries that have a similar service
base of one main library with no branches or bookmobiles.
The statistical data
gathering for evolving public library services is in development and in some
case not yet recorded. For example, the
gathering of databases and social networking resources such as podcasts, blogs,
wikis and rss feeds have yet to be considered by the PLA report. RCPL began rss
feed for our website in September with statistical information being
determined. Each year the RCPL Statistical Report is updated to reflect changes
in public services. The PLA statistics can take several years to begin gathering
comparison data for changing library services.
Based on the current
information, the following information is in evidence:
- RCPL rates higher than the national average in public
service hours, patron registrations, reference and library visits per
capita, salaries as a % of expenditures and total FTE; this in part
addresses increased use of the library as shown by:
- 28% increase in computer use year-to-date
- 12% year-to-date increase in library card holders
- Higher than average hours open to the public
- Staffing of service points throughout the
library rather than one central desk for each public service area
- In house use of materials increased by 22%
- In terms of salaries, the library follows the
salary schedules as established by the City of
- RCPL has expanded coverage to include Sundays beginning
in June 2005; this was accomplished after a survey of patrons’ interest
in Sunday hours
- RCPL rates lower than the national average in
expenditures per capita, materials expenditures per capita, circulation
per capita, and holdings
- In response to changing use of libraries, RCPL
has made a committed effort to transition print materials to electronic
resources when possible; this
allows for multiple accesses by patrons from within and outside of the
library, but reduces the overall number of physical materials checked out
- Although the number of physical units checked
out decreased, the computer use increased by 28%, which also reflects
access to our electronic resources