Services Statistics Data Definitions FY07

From the WebPLUS User's Guide, Version 1.0 (NCES, December 2006)

Library

This is the legal name of the administrative entity.

Pop of LSA (Population of Legal Service Area)

The number of people in the geographic area for which a public library has been established to offer services and from which (or on behalf of which) the library derives revenue, plus any areas served under contract for which the library is the primary service provider.

Note: The determination of this population figure shall be the responsibility of the state library agency.

This population figure should be based on the most recent official state population figures for jurisdictions in your state available from the State Data Center.  The State Data Coordinator should obtain these figures annually from the State Data Center or other official state sources.

Library Visits

This is the total number of persons entering the library for whatever purpose during the year.

Refer. Trans. (Reference Transactions)

A reference transaction is an information contact which involves the knowledge, use, recommendations, interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a member of the library staff. It includes information and referral services. Information sources include printed and non-printed materials, machine-readable databases, catalogs and other holdings records, and, through communication or referral, other libraries and institutions and people inside and outside the library.

The request may come in person, by phone, by fax, mail, electronic mail, or through live or networked electronic reference service from an adult, a young adult, or a child.

Total Program Attend. (Total Attendance at Library Programs)

This is a total count of the audience at all library programs during the reporting period.

ILL Provide (Inter-Library Loans Provided To)

These are library materials, or copies of the materials, provided by one autonomous library to another upon request. The libraries involved in interlibrary loans are not under the same library administration. These data are reported as annual figures.

Registered Patrons

A library user who has applied for and recieved an identification number or card from the public library that has established conditions under which the user may borrow library materials and gain access to other library resources.

Total Print Collect. (Print Materials)

Includes both of the following:  1) books in print; 2) serial back files in print.

Per Cap Collect. (Per Capita Collection)

Collection figure divided by Population of Legal Service Area

Total All Circ. (Total Circulation)

The total annual circulation of all library materials of all types, including renewals.

Per Cap Circ. (Per Capita Circulation)

Circulation figure divided by Population of Legal Service Area

Users of Elec. Res. (Number of Users of Electronic Resources Per Year)

Report the annual number of users of electronic resources in the library. Electronic resources include, but are not limited to, Internet ( WWW, email, Telnet, other), online indexes, CD-ROM reference materials, software, and the online catalog.