Academic libraries

From the National Center for Education Statistics, an Academic Library is defined as the library associated with a degree-granting institution of higher education. Academic libraries are identified by the post-secondary institution of which they are a part and provide all of the following:

  1. An organized collection of printed or other materials or a combination thereof;
  2. A staff trained to provide and interpret such materials as required to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of clientele;
  3. An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to clientele; and
  4. The physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.

Statistics about Academic Libraries

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Reports

From the National Center for Education Statistics, tabulations from Academic Library Surveys dating to 1990. The These academic libraries are informational resources within degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States, including institutions that are eligible for Title IV aid and branch campuses of Title IV eligible institutions.

Documentation for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Academic Library Survey includes training modules, presentations, committee roster, meeting notes and 2010 questionnaire.

Tools

The Compare Academic Libraries tool allows users to compare one library (the library of interest) with similar libraries (the comparison group). For example, a user may wish to compare one library's total circulation with the total circulation of a group of libraries with similar total expenditures.

To use Compare Academic Libraries:

  • Select the library of interest for which you want to find a comparison group.
  • Choose the basis for identifying similar libraries (the “Comparison Group”): e.g. size of staff.
  • Choose the information you would like displayed in the report.
  • View the report, which compares your library of interest with its comparison group.

Secondary reports

Reports about Academic Libraries

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