NEW HAMPSHIRE LIBRARY RANKINGS ON FSCS STATISTICS MEASURES

*      NH tied with Maine
**    NH tied with Iowa, Nevada, and New Mexico

Source: FY2002 data from the Federal State Cooperative System (FSCS) and New Hampshire Public Library Annual Report statistics. Data were collected from 228 of 237 total NH public library outlets. The full report - titled PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES: FISCAL YEAR 2000, published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES 2002-344) - is available online at this address: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002344.

NHPLAR Q&A
by Sue Palmatier
State Data Coordinator

Here's your first answer: "NHPLAR" stands for the New Hampshire Public Library Annual Report. It's that questionnaire you receive either at the height of summer or in the dead of winter, depending upon whether your library's fiscal year is July-June or January-December. (For those few of you with other fiscal years, we fit you in where we can collect the most up-to-date statistics.)

Yes, the July-June librarians and trustees should already have filled out and submitted their reports for FY2002 by September 30, but if you haven't, fear not - I'll still accept them. The January-December librarians and trustees have until March 3, 2003, to submit their reports. Seems like a long time, doesn't it? Well, you won't receive your forms until the first of the year, but you should have been collecting data regularly to make filling them out as easy as possible.

Since October is a month used for sampling certain statistics, I decided it was the perfect time to address some questions people have had, and to encourage the collection of certain statistics that seem to be overlooked by many libraries.

Q 1: Why does NHPLAR ask some questions that aren't reported in the federal Public Library Statistics publication?

A: As part of the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data (FSCS), we are required to collect certain statistics, and changes in the federal questions are voted upon by the State Data Coordinators of the 50 states, DC, and the 5 territories. We're allowed to collect any other statistics we wish, and those we base on questions that the NH State Library Development Services coordinators receive on a regular basis from New Hampshire librarians and trustees. One example is the query on the FY2002 survey about "empowering legislation", which asks whether your municipality has voted to allow the library trustees to accept gifts of money or property, and to keep the funds from income-generating equipment; we've found that a lot of librarians and trustees - especially new ones - don't know whether a vote was ever taken. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Census Bureau don't care; the State Library does.

If it makes you feel better, at least we haven't reached the 100-page questionnaire that one State Library, which shall remain nameless, sends out each year.

Q 2: Why should my library staff - which is either very small or very overworked or both - collect reference statistics? They're unreliable, anyway, since they're often based on faulty memories and best guesstimates.

A: Circulation statistics are probably the least reliable measure of library service, but we all collect them. If they're low, we can inflate them; if we're about to automate the library, the first question we ask is whether the new system will count circulation transactions. Knowing that there are almost as many ways to tally circulation as there are pine trees in New Hampshire, we still tot them up and brag about them to our peers and our politicos.

Why should reference statistics be handled any differently? I'm not recommending that they be inflated, but I am asking - nay, pleading - that they be collected. This is one area where you can sample: count the number of questions your staff is asked for one week in October or April, multiply by 52, and enter the total on the form. Just make tick marks on a pad, if that's easiest. Do it for children and for adults, and you'll be amazed at how much information you provide every day your library is open. It's a feel-good statistic, it's just as meaningful as circulation when you're defending your budget or requesting more staff, and it makes New Hampshire libraries look terrific in the national report.

Q 3: Why can't I just leave blanks when I don't collect certain data or don't have access to figures?

A: This is a common question from libraries in communities where the town office or city hall handles the finances and statistics aren't broken down the way NHPLAR asks for them. It's especially common of payrolls; when the municipality pays the fringe benefits, they're often not reported separately from the salaries, and it looks on the questionnaire as if your staff doesn't get Social Security, insurance, or other perks. The feds don't really care - it's all considered "personnel expenditures" - but they do want to know that fringe benefits exist; the State Library does care, because we're often asked by local libraries about amounts and percentages spent on benefits.

So...please attach a note explaining any anomalies in your reporting. If your town pays fringe benefits and they're not broken out from the salary figures, tell me. If your library doesn't get any town money, tell me. If your trustees had to dip into trust fund principal to cover expenses, tell me; it's true that there's no line on which to report the expenditure of principal, because it's not considered income - just jot down a brief explanation.

Whether you stick on a Post-It(tm) or write a formal cover letter, please fill me in when your answers don't quite fit our questions; it will save us all a lot of calling and e-mailing later in the year.

And if you don't collect a particular data item at all, please use N/A - not zero - in your answer.

Q 4: Why does NHPLAR ask for the number of subscriptions twice?

A: We don't. The first two subscription questions (line 27 - Serials: Newspapers, and line 28 - Serials: Magazines) ask for the number of volumes of periodicals (whether bound paper or other form) you keep as part of your permanent collection: i.e., the number of titles times the number of years kept (minus the current year). The third subscription question (line 31 - Number of print and microfilm subscriptions currently received) calls for the number of subscriptions you currently receive.

Note that lines 27 and 28 cover all formats, including CD's; line 31 covers only print and microform, specifically excluding electronic and digital subscriptions. Also note that if you keep only the current year of your subscriptions, the answer(s) on line 27 and/or 28 will be zero, but the answer on line 31 will not.

This article has tried to answer some of your most pressing and oft-asked questions. If you need more help, please contact me:

I'll get back to you as soon as I can; answering your questions and addressing your concerns early will make life a bit easier and more fun for everyone.