The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the ARL Statistics 2010–2011, the latest in a series of annual publications that describe the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of ARL’s 126 member libraries in 2011. Of these, 115 are university libraries (16 in Canada and 99 in the US); the remaining 11 are public, governmental, and non-profit research libraries (2 in Canada, 9 in the US).
ARL libraries are a relatively small subset of libraries in North America, but they account for a large portion of academic library resources in terms of assets, budgets, and the number of users they serve. The total library expenditures of all 126 member libraries in 2010-2011 was slightly more than USD4.6 billion; of that total, roughly USD3.2 billion was spent by the 115 university libraries and more than USD1.3 million by the 11 non-university libraries.
ARL has collected and published annual statistics for its member libraries since 1961–62, expanding upon the work of James Gerould, who collected this information first at the University of Minnesota and later at Princeton University. The data he collected, covering the years 1907–08 through 1961–62, are now called the Gerould Statistics. The complete data series from 1908 through the present represents the oldest, most comprehensive, continuing library statistical series in North America. Visit http://www.arl.org to order the publication.
(ACCESS 83, December 2012)
