A look at the FSCS State Summary of the FY2004 N.H. Public Library Statistics shows some intriguing figures - ups, downs, or no changes - in unexpected places. Anomalies? Signs of a trend or two? Perhaps readers of this article can help interpret some of the more unusual numbers. Please take a look at the following data.

a change of only 1 in the number of personnel: "All Other Paid Staff" (i.e., staff who aren't classified as librarians) went up from 298 to 299; all other categories remained at last year's levels;

a moderate increase of 5.8% in salaries and wages, but a jump of 22.0% in fringe benefits; the cost of health insurance is sky high, but are more libraries also offering benefits?

A minor increase of 1.5% in spending on print materials such as books and periodicals and a tiny step up in print holdings: only .5% (yes, that's a " of one percent);

but...an increase of 4.1% in spending on electronic materials and 8.4% for other materials, coupled with a leap of 66.4% in e-book holdings, 7.9% in audios, and 11.4% in videos;

...followed by a startling decline of 16.4% in database holdings;

a small increase of 1.7% in print serial subscriptions, but a 52.4% plunge in electronic serial subs;

a 1.9% rise in library visits, but only a .05% (yes, 5/100ths of one percent) rise in reference questions;

a respectable increase of 2.3% in total circulation - but a 1.7% drop in children's;

and yet a 7.1% jump in attendance at children's programs; apparently they're going to events but not reading;

a nice rise of 6.2% in the number of Internet-access terminals available to the public, coupled with a 15.0% nosedive in the number of people using electronic resources.

Your State Data Coordinator has her own ideas about the reasons for some of these mystery statistics, but would like to hear reads' reactions. If you'd like to guess, speculate, wonder, scoff, brag, express suspicion, support, deny, theorize, or philosophize about the numbers, please send your thoughts via e-mail, snail mail, phone, or van (telepathy doesn't work), to Sue Palmatier at spalmatier@library.state.nh.us, call 1-800-462-1726 (NH only), via van by Lancaster - NHSL/NCO or by mail N.H. State Library, North Country Office, 244 Main Street, Lancaster, N.H. 03584-3038; and with your permission, I'll print your responses in the next issue of Granite State Libraries, along with my own.

Thanks for participating in the Statisticsalympics!