New Hampshire public libraries

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.

The 206 libraries profiled (plus 24 omitted) are slightly better funded than average, with few libraries in the bottom four brackets and more than average in the upper middle brackets. Circulation is slightly on the low side, mostly because only 6% of the libraries circulate 17 or more items per capita (compared to 14% overall); expenditures do track circulation consistently. Patron visits are also slightly low, again because relatively few libraries fall into the top two brackets. Program attendance is on the high side, with 32% having 0.7 per capita attendance or more and 67% having at least 0.3 (compared to 21% and 54% overall). PC use is distinctly low—only 17% have at least 1.3 uses per capita (compared to 43% overall). Indeed, 40% of the libraries are in the lowest bracket.

Libraries by legal service area

LSA Count % Outliers
<700 5 2.4% 5
700-1,149 25 12.1% 5
1,150-1,649 19 9.2% 2
1,650-2,249 24 11.7% 2
2,250-2,999 24 11.7%
3,000-3,999 10 4.9% 2
4,000-5,299 36 17.5% 5
5,300-6,799 14 6.8%
6,800-8,699 13 6.3% 1
8,700-11,099 10 4.9%
11,100-14,099 7 3.4%
14,100-18,499 6 2.9%
18,500-24,999 5 2.4%
25,000-34,499 5 2.4% 2
34,500-53,999 1 0.5%
54,000-104,999 1 0.5%
105,000-4.1 mill. 1 0.5%

Circulation per capita and spending per capita

Circulation per capita correlates very strongly (0.77) with spending per capita.

Circulation per capita plotted against spending per capita

Circulation per capita (rounded) occurrence by spending category

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