National Library Week 2023: A Compilation of Facts and Statistics From the U.S. Census About Libraries and Librarians

From the U.S. Census:

From the American Library Association:

“National Library Week 2023, April 23-29, will be celebrated with the theme ‘There’s More to the Story.’ Libraries are full of stories in a variety of formats from picture books to large print, audiobooks to ebooks, and more. But there’s so much more to the story. Libraries of Things lend items like museum passes, games, musical instruments, and tools. Library programming brings communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, and lectures. Library infrastructure advances communities, providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for businesses, job seekers, and entrepreneurs. National Library Week 2023 will be a great time to tell your library’s multi-faceted story.”

From The American Presidency Project, Proclamation 3226—National Library Week, March 15, 1958: “Let National Library Week be a time for the appraisal of community needs for library services and of the means for meeting them, for encouraging the development of a better-read, better-informed citizenry, and for rededication to that fine public service that has always been characteristic of the libraries of America.”

Key Stats

Source: 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates.

• Table B24121, Detailed Occupation by Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months (in 2019 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) for the Full-Time, Year-Round Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over, notice Librarians, Library technicians, and Other education instruction and library workers
• Table B24124, Detailed Occupation For The Full-Time, Year-Round Civilian Employed Population 16 Years And Over, notice Librarians, Library technicians, and Other education instruction and library workers

Note: The table image above is cropped at the bottom. Click on the image for the full table with more than 550 occupations.

More Stats

Source: Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (ASPEP) 2017 – 2021.

• Table GS00EP01, State Government Employment and Payroll Data: US and States: 2017 – 2021, scroll down and notice five rows for Libraries (under Education)

Source: Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances 2020.

Table 1.  State and Local Government Finances by Level of Government and by State: 020, see Line 76, Libraries:

• US Summary & Alabama-Mississippi
• Missouri-Wyoming

Source: 2017 Economic Census

• Table EC1751BASIC, Information: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2017, showing NAICS 51912, Libraries and Archives

From the Newsroom  /  Stats for Stories (SFS)

• World Book and Copyright Day: April 23, 2023
• Sunshine Week & Freedom of Information Day: March 12-18 & 16, 2023

Outside Links

• American Library Association
• Association, National Library WeekAmerican Library Association, Resource Guides, Number of Libraries in the United States, with Links to Sources for Statistics
• American Library Association, Libraries and the 2020 Census
• Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook — Librarians and Library Media Specialists
• Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey
• Library of Congress
• National Archives

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Data Files, Lecture, Libraries, National Libraries, News, Public Libraries