Internet Access at Public Libraries
- From 2000 to 2018, the number of computers available to public library users for accessing the Internet tripled, while the ratio of such computers to the population more than doubled (Indicator V-17a). In 2018, the ratio was 4.8 terminals per 5,000 people, or a total of 303,762 computers.2
- As with circulation levels, considerable variation existed among states with respect to the ratio of computers to population in the state (Indicator V-17b). In 2018, Vermont had the most computers per 5,000 people (9.2), while Hawaii had the fewest (2.1).
- Although state statistics provide a sense of the distribution of public library Internet access throughout the United States, they do not shed light on the often substantial variation in the level of access within states—variation that arises from the fact that public libraries are, for the most part, locally funded.
Endnotes
- 2The ratios presented here are based on the total unduplicated population of libraries’ legal service areas. A library’s legal service area is the geographical area that by state or local statute a library is mandated to serve. “Unduplicated” refers to the fact that the population figures have been adjusted to compensate for overlapping service areas. To simply sum the populations of all service areas would be to double count those people residing in areas served by more than one library.
* Based on the total unduplicated population of libraries' legal service areas. Values presented are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and calculations were performed on all libraries treated by these jurisdictions as public libraries, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see “About the Data” for details).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (2000–2005); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2006–2018). Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The “per 5,000 people” values included in this graph are based on the total unduplicated population of libraries’ legal service areas, as reported by the libraries themselves. A library’s legal service area is the geographical area that by state or local statute a library is mandated to serve. “Unduplicated” refers to the fact that the population figures have been adjusted to compensate for overlapping service areas. To simply sum the populations of all service areas would be to double count those people residing in areas served by more than one library.
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
1. An organized collection of printed or other library materials, or a combination thereof;
2. Paid staff;
3. An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
4. The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2017, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,045 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met the criteria above. These entities provided services via 16,557 central and branch libraries, and 672 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, L. M. Frehill, K. Williams, and E. Nielsen, Supplementary Tables: Public Libraries in the United States Fiscal Year 2017 [Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019], 1–2, https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017_pls_tables.pdf).
V-17b: Public-Use Internet Computers in Public Libraries per 5,000 People, by State, Fiscal Year 2018*
* Based on the total unduplicated population of libraries' legal service areas. Calculations were performed on all libraries treated by these jurisdictions as public libraries, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see “About the Data” for details).
Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2018). Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The “per 5,000 people” values included in this graph are based on the total unduplicated population of libraries’ legal service areas, as reported by the libraries themselves. A library’s legal service area is the geographical area that by state or local statute a library is mandated to serve. “Unduplicated” refers to the fact that the population figures have been adjusted to compensate for overlapping service areas. To simply sum the populations of all service areas would be to double count those people residing in areas served by more than one library.
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
1. An organized collection of printed or other library materials, or a combination thereof;
2. Paid staff;
3. An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
4. The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2017, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,045 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met the criteria above. These entities provided services via 16,557 central and branch libraries, and 672 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, L. M. Frehill, K. Williams, and E. Nielsen, Supplementary Tables: Public Libraries in the United States Fiscal Year 2017 [Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019], 1–2, https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017_pls_tables.pdf).
