ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 6 3 0 /C& R L News N e w n a tio n a l numbers on academ ic lib ra rie s B y M ary J o L y n ch A cadem ic libraries are busier than ever D ata on 54 variables describing all academic libraries in the U.S., reported to the Na­ tional Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the fall o f 1992, are now available on paper, on disk, and on Internet. As a sample o f w hat can be learned from these data, Table 1 compares 1990 and 1992 figures for three input variables and three o ut p ut variables. Note that although total sp en d ing increased by 12% and num ber of volum es added increased by 10%, the num ber o f staf decreased by 3%. Further analysis of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS data using other variables or data by state o by ty p e o f in stitu tio n co u ld e x p la in th e se changes in m ore detail. Increases in the three output variables confirm the general belief tha academic libraries are busier than ever. Again further analysis o f the IPEDS data could revea patterns by state a n d /o r by level of program. Table 1. Academic Libraries: 1990, 1 S ta ff (FTE) C ir c u la tio n 90 99,682 90 159 92 96,241 (-3%) 92 180 O p e r a tin g e x p e n d itu r e s L o a n s to o 90 3,257,813,000 90 6,57 92 3,648,653,735 (+12%) 92 7,98 V o lu m e s a d d e d L oan s f r o m 90 19,002,705 90 4,19 92 2 0,982,250 (+10%) 92 5,30 Operating ratios added to report For the first time this year the IPEDS Academ ic Libraries report presents a set of operating ra­ tios. Some show library variables per FTE stu­ dent; others show relationships betw een parts o f the library budget or betw een library ex­ penditures and total institutional expenditures. For each ratio, the report shows the first quartile, m edian, third quartile, and national average for each level of degree and for public and private control. Table 2 displays national averages for two ­ o f the ratios. Column one show s that total li­ ­ brary expenditures per FTE go u p dramatically as th e level of degree goes up, thus dem on­ f strating the way library costs increase as the content of the academic program becomes more ) complex. In column two the average percent r of collection expenditures spent on serials goes u p dramatically as the level o f degree increases, thus demonstrating the increasing reliance on t information in expensive serials. , l H o w data are reported T hese data were collected from libraries on forms distributed by IPEDS, w hich relies on a netw ork 992 of state coordinators to dis­ tribute form s to cam puses and ensure their return to ,837,737 NCES. T hese coo rd in ato rs ,392,780 (+13%) a re u s u a lly in th e s ta te a g e n c y th a t c o o r d in a te s t h e r lib r a r ie s higher education. In som e 6,111 states, th e responsibility is 7,047 (+21%) shared by several agencies, o t h e r lib r a r ie s each concerned with a dif­ 9,269 ferent sector of higher ed u ­ 4,680 (+26%) cation (i.e., different level of degree o r type o f control). Mary J o Lynch is director o f the ALA Office f o r Research a n d Statistics; e-mail: MaryJo.Lynch@ala.org mailto:MaryJo.Lynch@ala.org November 1994/631 Table 2. Expenditures, 1992: National H ig h es t le v e l T otal o p e r a tin g C u rre o f d eg re e e x p e n d itu r e s a s % o p e r FTE stu d en t e x p e n $ % D o cto ra te 902.90 55. M aster’s 659.36 43. B a c h e lo r ’s 431.86 37. < 4 y ea r s 184.69 29. Typically, forms are sent from NCES to the state agency to the campus office responsible for institutional research. The route back to NCES reverses the distribution route (i.e., campus to state agency to NCES). Since 1990 ALA, ACRL, and ARL have been working with NCES to establish and maintain a system whereby a “library representative” (LR) in each state has agreed to help NCES with the biennial data collection. At this writing only two states lack LRs. In 10 states the LR is avail­ able to assist the state IPEDS coordinator. In 38 other states and the District of Columbia the LR keys data from the forms submitted by li­ braries into the special software developed by NCES called IDEALS (Input and Data Editing for Academ ic Library Statistics). After ru n ­ ning edit checks, th e LR sends a diskette to NCES for creation o f th e national report. The LRs in several states also use the data lo ­ cally for state-level reports (e.g., Michigan, Utah, Louisiana). Obtaining the 1992 data The 1992 report and data files are available from several sources: • I n te r n e t . The report and the data files are available on th e U.S. D epartm ent o fE d u - cation/O E R I g o p h e r server: select E d u ca­ tional Research, Im provem ent, and Statistics (OERI & NCES)/; th en select National C en­ ter for Education Statistics (NCES)/; follow ed by Library Statistics Program /; th en select Surveys and Studies/; follow ed by Academ ic Library Statistics. The data files an d the report are each p re ­ c e d e d b y a n a c c o m p a n y in g d e s c r ip tiv e readm e file. Each readm e file, th e rep o rt, and the data files m ay be d ow nloaded. The re p o rt an d the d ata files have b e e n com ­ p ressed on Internet using a Averages s o f tw a r e p r o g r a m c a lle d pkzip. This is available on n t s e r ia ls th e d e p a r t m e n t ’s g o p h e r f c o lle c tio n s e r v e r u n d e r t h e m a in d itu r e s m enu. • G o v e r n m e n t P r in t ­ in g O ffice (GPO). Copies of 7 the report and the data files can be purchased from New 0 O rders, S u p e rin te n d e n t o f 0 Documents, P.O. Box 371954, 2 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. You may place credit card or­ ders by fax at (202) 512-2250. Call the GPO Order Desk at (202) 512-1800 for additional ordering information or to place your order by telephone. • N a t i o n a l D a ta R e s o u r c e C e n t e r (NDRC). If you provide two DOS-formatted high-density 3.5" diskettes and a self-addressed diskette mailer, the NDRC will provide you the data file free o f charge. Send your request by Internet to: ndrc@pcci.com; or send a fax to (703) 820-7465; or w rite to NDRC at 1900 Beauregard Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22311; or call (703) 845-3151. ■ Letter Gover gets credit for coining phrase To the Editor: Thanks to everyone in ACRL w ho pro­ vided a summary report of their programs in Miami (“ACRL in Miami: Taking the Net­ work Plunge,” September 1994). We are also pleased to note that ACRL liked the title of our Extended Off-Campus Library Services Section (ECLSS) program enough to use it in the heading of the report. As chairperson o f the ECLSS Program Committee for Mi­ ami, I was honored to be able to work with a num ber of individuals w ho helped make our program a huge success. I w ould like especially to recognize the person w ho cre­ ated the name “Taking the Network Plunge”: Harvey Gover, branch campus librarian at Washington State University and a member o f the Planning Committee.— Thomas E. Abbott, dean, Learning Resources a n d Uni­ versity Development, University o f M aine at A ugusta mailto:ndrc@pcci.com