Higher Education: Data About U.S. Academic Libraries Released Today in new National Center for Education Statistics Report

The academic library data is found in a new report from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) titled, Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2015; and Financial Statistics and Academic Libraries, Fiscal Year 2015: First Look (Provisional Data).
What academic library data is available?

The Academic Libraries (AL) component collected information from degree-granting institutions on library collections, expenditures, and services for fiscal year 2015.
Institutions answer a screening question within the Institutional Characteristics component during the fall collection period that determines the requirement to complete the AL component. Institutions answer an additional screening question within the AL component to direct them to complete the appropriate sections of the component.
The AL component consists of two sections: Section I collects data on the library collections and circulation numbers, including physical books, media, digital or electronic books (including government documents), digital or electronic databases, and digital or electronic media, and is to be completed by institutions reporting any library expenditures. Section II collects data on the number of branch and independent libraries as well as library expenditures—including library staff wages and fringe benefits, materials and service costs, operations and maintenance expenditures, and interlibrary services—and is to be 2 Throughout this publication, the term “entity” refers to both institutions and administrative offices. 3 Ninety-nine percent of public institutions used GASB, and 1 percent used FASB. 3 completed by institutions with total library expenditures greater than $100,000. Institutions with no library expenditures were not required to respond to the AL component.

Key Finding Re: Academic Libraries

Eligible Title IV degree-granting institutions reported approximately 1.3 billion items in physical library collections (books and media) and about 839 million items in electronic library collections (digital/electronic books, databases, and digital electronic media) (table 4).

More Highlights From an NCES E-Mail:

The percent of revenues that postsecondary institutions received from tuition and fees in 2014-15 varied greatly depending on the type of institution.
According to new data released today by the National Center for Education Statistics, public 4-year institutions and administrative offices received about 22 percent of their revenues from tuition and fees in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, compared with just over 35 percent at private nonprofit entities and just over 90 percent at private for-profit entities. This data was released as part of a First Look report that includes data on Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2015; and Financial Statistics and Academic Libraries, FY 2015. It presents findings from the spring 2015 data collection of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), an NCES program within the Institute of Education Sciences.
Other findings include:
In fall 2015, Title IV institutions enrolled approximately 17.4 million undergraduate and about 2.9 million graduate students. Of the approximately 17.4 million undergraduates, about 60 percent were enrolled in 4-year institutions and nearly 38 percent in 2-year institutions. Nearly 2 percent were enrolled in less-than-2-year institutions;
In fiscal year 2015, about 29 percent of expenses at public 4-year entities were for instruction, compared with approximately 43 percent at public 2-year entities and nearly 52 percent at public less-than-2-year entities; and
Title IV institutions and administrative offices reported employing approximately 4million individuals in fall 2015. Of those individuals, , about 2.6 million were employed full-time and about 1.4 million were employed part-time.

Direct to Full Text Report (26 pages; PDF)

NCES: Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2015; and Financial Statistics and Acade… by LJ’s infoDOCKET on Scribd

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