What You Might Not Know
Public libraries need your support. Get the facts.
- More cards. Less money.
- More Americans than ever have library cards, but many public libraries report stagnant or declining state and local funding levels.
- Low funding.
- Twenty-six percent of U.S. public libraries operate on less than $50,000 annually.
- Not enough help.
- Staffing levels are not keeping pace with demand and many libraries are understaffed.
- Over 70%
- Over 70% of public libraries—over 80% of rural libraries—report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities.
- Get in line.
- Demand for computers in most libraries is so great that there is often a lengthy wait time. And most libraries report a critical need for new computers.
- Only 1%
- Even though the bulk of most library budgets come from local dollars, public library funding often represents only about 1% of the total local community operating expenditures.
