Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Publishes “The State of U.S. Academic Libraries: Findings From the ACRL 2024 Annual Survey”

From ACRL: 

This report focuses on U.S. academic libraries in fiscal year 2024 (the 2023–24 academic year). For the first time this year, the results are weighted to be representative of all U.S. academic libraries, unless otherwise noted. Key findings include:

• Staff: The average full-time equivalent (FTE) library staff is 36.2 and the median is 15.7. Doctoral universities have much higher staffing levels than all other types. Associate’s colleges and two-year institutions have the highest ratio of students to staff.
• Expenditures: In 2024, total annual library expenditures reached an average of $2.1 million and median of $487,000 dollars, excluding fringe benefits.

• Collections and circulation: 79.6% of academic library collections are in digital or electronic format. Digital materials account for 93.2% of total circulation.

• Instruction: More than half (54.8%) of presentations to groups happen synchronously, and those presentations account for 75.8% of total annual attendance.
• Accessibility: Most academic libraries (90.2%) have an accessible main entrance and inside the library, 94.4% have wheelchair-accessible hallways. However, only about half (51.6%) have computers with accessible technologies and software.

Direct to Full Text Report 
31 pages; PDF.

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