Library Statistics and Figures: Number of Libraries in the United States
Number of libraries in the United States
There are an estimated 123,627 libraries of all kinds in the United States today.
No single annual survey provides statistics on all types of libraries.
| Public Libraries (administrative units) | 17,278 | ||
| Central Buildings* | 8,884 | ||
| Branch Buildings | 7,723 | ||
| Total Buildings | 16,607 | ||
| Total Bookmobiles** | 671 | ||
| Academic Libraries | 3,697 | ||
| School Libraries | 105,451 | ||
| Public Schools | 82,300 | ||
| Private Schools | 22,991 | ||
| Bureau of Indian Education-funded Schools | 160 | ||
| Special Libraries*** | 4,396 | ||
| Armed Forces Libraries | 225 | ||
| Government Libraries | 801 | ||
| Total | 131,848 |
* The number of central buildings is different from the number of public libraries because some public library systems have no central building and some have more than one. Footnote 3 in Table 3 of Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2019 explains: " Of the 9,057 public libraries in the 50 States and DC, 7,330 were single-outlet libraries and 1,727 were multiple-outlet libraries. Single-outlet libraries are a central library, bookmobile, or books-by-mail-only outlet. Multiple-outlet libraries have two or more direct service outlets, including some combination of one central library, branch(es), bookmobile(s), and/or books-by-mail-only outlets."
** Per footnote 1 in Table 3A of Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2019: A bookmobile is a traveling public branch library. It consists of at least one of the following: (1) A truck or van that carries an organized collection of library materials; (2) paid staff; and (3) regularly scheduled hours (bookmobile stops) for being open to the public.
*** Special libraries include Corporate, Law, Medical, Religious, Research, Tribal, and other libraries not strictly classified in the other library types listed above.
Figures for public libraries come from the supplementary tables of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2019 (April 2021)
Figures for academic libraries come from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Academic Library Survey, 2018-2019
Figures for school libraries come from various surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES):
- The number of school libraries in public schools comes from Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results from the 2015-16 Schools and Staffing Survey (August 2017)
- The number of school libraries in BIE (Bureau of Indian Effairs) schools comes from Characteristics of Public and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (June 2009)
- The number of school libraries in private schools comes from the Private School Universe Survey (PSS): Public-Use Data for School Year 2017-2018
Figures for special libraries, armed forces libraries, and government libraries come from the American Library Directory, 2022-2023 (75th edition).
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Library Statistics from Other Countries
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IFLA Library Map of the WorldIFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Library Map of the World is a representative source of basic library statistics and a robust tool providing country-level data and a worldwide comparison of different library performance metrics by region.
Links to Sources for Statistics
- National Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences.
- Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 Schools and Staffing SurveyReport compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics with statistical information on School Library Media Centers in the United States (August 2017)
- Characteristics of Public and Bureau of Indian Education Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Centers in the United States: Results from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing SurveyReport from the National Center for Education Statistics with statistical information on school library media centers in schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (June 2009)
- American Library DirectoryA directory of libraries in the United States and Canada
- NCES Academic Libraries Information CenterNational Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Academic Libraries Survey data access page
- Private School Universe Survey (PSS): Public-Use Data for School Year 2017-18The Private School Universe Survey (PSS) is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education in order to collect basic information on American
private elementary and secondary schools. The target population for PSS is all schools in the United States that are not supported primarily by public funds, provide classroom instruction for one or more of grades kindergarten through 12 (or comparable ungraded levels), and have one or more teachers.