Public Libraries Survey

In this clearance submission (3137-0074), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of the Public Libraries Survey (PLS): Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026. This survey was first conducted in 1989 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to collect library statistics for all public libraries in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories (the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). The Public Libraries Survey has been conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the clearance number 3137-0074. Pursuant to P.L. 107-279, the Public Libraries Survey collects annual descriptive data on the universe of public libraries in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Outlying Areas. Information such as public service hours per year, circulation of library books, number of librarians, population of legal service area, expenditures for library collection, programs for children and young adults, staff salary data, and access to technology, etc., would be collected. Additional information: The FY 2020 PLS aims to capture Coronavirus-related practices from the entire universe of approximately 9,300 public libraries in the United States, the District of Columbia, and outlying areas. This memo describes changes to the previously approved PLS data elements and data collection instructions for the FY 2026 collection cycle. The changes are based on recommendations from the Library Statistics Working Group (LSWG) in consultation with methodologists. The recommendations aim to improve the quality and clarity of data elements, aligning reporting structures for library outlets (e.g., central and branch libraries) and refining priority measures, while maintaining stability in the overall collection. These changes do not alter the nature or intent of the information collection, change the respondent universe or collection frequency, or increase respondent burden.

The latest form for Public Libraries Survey expires 2027-11-30 and can be found here.