Each year, ACRL’s Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey provides data that can help us understand how academic libraries provide and demonstrate their impact and value to their users, institutions, and communities. Findings from the 2021 survey continued this tradition while also supplying additional insight into how library services and use continued to evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 survey collected data from 1,533 academic libraries in two areas:
- A standard set of questions related to:
- Collections (including titles held, volumes, and electronic books)
- Expenditures (library materials, salaries and wages, etc.)
- Library services
- Staffing
- A one-time set of survey questions focused on instruction-related and group presentation activities before, during, and after the pandemic
The highlights and insights below from each area are based on data from ACRL’s Benchmark: Library Metrics and Trends tool (librarybenchmark.org). Academic libraries completing the survey have free access to their own survey responses and selected aggregate data. Benchmark subscribers can leverage data outputs to perform institution-specific analysis for benchmarking, self-studies, budgeting, strategic planning, annual reports, and grant applications.
The response rate was nearly 42%.
Read the full report on ACRL’s website.
