Another post commenting on Chapter 20 of Give Us a Dollar and We’ll Give You Back Four (2012-13)–now available as a $9.99 Kindle ebook or $21.95 paperback, with ISBN 978-1481279161, on Amazon, along with the usual Lulu options.
Only 21 libraries (none omitted)—but eight of the ten expenditure categories are represented (the top and bottom are missing). A few things stand out even with the small group of libraries—e.g., the best-funded library (the only one with at least $53 spending per capita, and just barely above that mark) has nearly twice the circulation of the median for any other expenditure category and two-thirds more than the next-best 75%ile. That library isn’t highest for any of the other metrics.
Libraries by legal service area
| LSA | Count | % |
| 5,300-6,799 |
5 |
23.8% |
| 6,800-8,699 |
1 |
4.8% |
| 11,100-14,099 |
5 |
23.8% |
| 14,100-18,499 |
2 |
9.5% |
| 18,500-24,999 |
2 |
9.5% |
| 25,000-34,499 |
1 |
4.8% |
| 34,500-53,999 |
2 |
9.5% |
| 54,000-104,999 |
2 |
9.5% |
| 105,000-4.1 mill. |
1 |
4.8% |
Circulation per capita and spending per capita
Circulation per capita correlates strongly (0.70) with spending per capita.
Circulation per capita plotted against spending per capita
While the graph above is fairly clear and meaningful, the graph below is possibly the most useless graph I’ve prepared to date, although that’s a tough competition. Even rounding circulation to the nearest 5, it has little to show; if I didn’t do that, the graph would have two rows (1 and 2). As you may note, there are no libraries in the $5 and $73 categories.
Circulation per capita (rounded to five) occurrence by spending category
