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.
Most of New Jersey’s 268 libraries (in the tables: 32 others omitted) are quite well supported, with more than a quarter in the top bracket ($73 to $399.99 per capita) and 69% in the top three brackets (compared to 30% overall). Also worth noting: almost none of New Jersey’s libraries (in the tables at least) are badly supported: there are only 16 libraries (6%) in the bottom four brackets combined, and only one in the bottom bracket.
Circulation is fairly typical (with, if anything, a very slight bulge in the middle, from 6 to 9 circulation per capita). Expenditures correlate consistently with circulation, from the $27.02 median for libraries circulating less than two items per capita to the $101.76 median for those circulating 24 or more.
Patron visits are fairly strong, with two-thirds of the libraries having at least five visits per capita (compared to 54% overall); it’s actually strongest in the second and third brackets (7 to 12.99 visits), with 36% of the libraries (compared to 24% overall). Program attendance is slightly on the low side, with most libraries—nearly half—in the 0.3 to 0.69 brackets.
Libraries by legal service area
| LSA | Count | % | Outliers |
| 1,150-1,649 | 2 | 0.7% | 4 |
| 1,650-2,249 | 4 | 1.5% | 1 |
| 2,250-2,999 | 5 | 1.9% | 3 |
| 3,000-3,999 | 5 | 1.9% | 3 |
| 4,000-5,299 | 11 | 4.1% | 5 |
| 5,300-6,799 | 19 | 7.1% | 3 |
| 6,800-8,699 | 28 | 10.4% | 8 |
| 8,700-11,099 | 31 | 11.6% | 5 |
| 11,100-14,099 | 29 | 10.8% | |
| 14,100-18,499 | 25 | 9.3% | |
| 18,500-24,999 | 27 | 10.1% | |
| 25,000-34,499 | 20 | 7.5% | |
| 34,500-53,999 | 26 | 9.7% | |
| 54,000-104,999 | 22 | 8.2% | |
| 105,000-4.1 mill. | 14 | 5.2% |
Circulation per capita and spending per capita
Circulation per capita correlates very strongly (0.72) with spending per capita.
Circulation per capita plotted against spending per capita
Circulation per capita (rounded) occurrence by spending category
