Summary

Description

The Public Libraries Survey, Fiscal Year 2003 (PLS FY2003) is a study that is part of the Library Statistics program. PLS FY2003 (http://www.imls.gov/research/public_libraries_in_the_united_states_survey.aspx) is a cross-sectional study that includes information on population of legal service area, service outlets, public service hours, library materials, total circulation, circulation of children�s materials, reference transactions, library visits, children�s program attendance, interlibrary loans, electronic services and information, full-time-equivalent staff, operating revenue and expenditures, and capital expenditures. The study was conducted using paper surveys, web-based surveys, and email. The key respondents in this study were state library agencies. The study's response rate was 97.2 percent. The key statistics produced from PLS FY2003 were about service measures such as access to the Internet, number of users of electronic resources, number of internet terminals used by the general public, reference transactions, public service hours, interlibrary loans, circulation, library visits, children�s program attendance, and circulation of children�s materials. It also includes information about size of collection, staffing, operating revenue and expenditures, type of geographic service area, type of legal basis, type of administrative structure, number and type of public library service outlets, and square footage of outlets.