The Public Libraries Survey is conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data. The data are collected by a network of state data coordinators appointed by the chief officers of state library agencies in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the outlying areas. Data are collected 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, electronic services and information, staff, operating income, operating expenditures, capital outlay, and more.
