Arkansas Public Library Survey

The Public Library Survey (PLS) is a federal-state cooperative initiative that provides annual statistics to reflect the status and impact of public libraries throughout the United States and territories.

At the federal level, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) coordinates the development and collection of the survey instrument as well as the publication of annual results and related reports.

Accessing the Data

The compiled data files for the Arkansas Public Library Survey are freely available online via the Arkansas State Library’s digital repository. To request individual library data reports, contact the submitting library.

National datasets are available from IMLS.

About the Arkansas Annual Public Library Survey

In Arkansas, the survey is administered by the State Data Coordinator (SDC), who is appointed by the Chief Officer of the State Library Administrative Agency (SLAA). The SDC collects reports from the state’s public libraries, contributes to the development of new elements to the survey instrument, and completes the federal edit process and submission of the state’s data.

Additional elements are added to the survey instrument to reflect the data needs and the unique impact of Arkansas’ public libraries.

The data collected is self-reported by the public libraries. Survey data is submitted by the director of the library, system, or consortium of libraries or a designee. Public Libraries are offered training and documentation that equips them to understand the specific parameters of each element collected.

Data for the Arkansas Public Library Survey is considered finalized once it passes all federal edit checks and the imputation process is complete. Complied statewide data is available from the State Library, but questions about a specific library’s data should be submitted to that library.

Arkansas Public Libraries that receive funding under the State Aid to Public Libraries program are required to complete the survey. Though some libraries elect to complete the survey voluntarily, the Arkansas PLS does not represent every public library in Arkansas.

The Arkansas State Library is authorized to administer the PLS in accordance with A.C.A §§ 13-2-208 (b)(1). Further information about the PLS can be found on IMLS’ website.

For more information about the Arkansas Annual Public Library Survey, contact: