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.
Nebraska’s 229 profiled libraries (39 others omitted) are generally well funded, with roughly three-quarters spending $36 or more (compared to roughly 40% overall) and very few libraries below $21. Adjusted benefit ratios are all 4.6 or better; without adjustment for Nebraska’s 90.9% cost of living, they’re all over 5.
Given those facts, you’d expect strong circulation numbers—and they are: 55% circulate 10 or more items per capita (compared to 38% overall). Patron visits are also on the high side, 56% having seven or more (compared to 33% overall). The budget table shows consistent tracking of median circulation to expenditure brackets.
Program attendance is also strong, with a full 20% of the libraries having at least 1.1 attendance per capita (compared to 9% overall) and 52% having at least 0.5 (compared to 33% overall). It’s a clean sweep: PC use is also high, with 73% having 1.3 uses per capita or more (compared to 43% overall).
Libraries by legal service area
| LSA | Count | % | Outliers |
| <700 | 86 | 37.6% | 37 |
| 700-1,149 | 46 | 20.1% | 2 |
| 1,150-1,649 | 30 | 13.1% | |
| 1,650-2,249 | 17 | 7.4% | |
| 2,250-2,999 | 6 | 2.6% | |
| 3,000-3,999 | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 4,000-5,299 | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 5,300-6,799 | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 6,800-8,699 | 8 | 3.5% | |
| 8,700-11,099 | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 11,100-14,099 | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 14,100-18,499 | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 18,500-24,999 | 3 | 1.3% | |
| 25,000-34,499 | 4 | 1.7% | |
| 34,500-53,999 | 2 | 0.9% | |
| 105,000-4.1 mill. | 2 | 0.9% |
Circulation per capita and spending per capita
Circulation per capita correlates strongly (0.56) with spending per capita.
Circulation per capita plotted against spending per capita
Circulation per capita (rounded) occurrence by spending category
