Library card statistics show how many registered borrowers public libraries reported relative to population. In the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Libraries Survey FY 2008 state ranking table, the national rate was 0.57 registered borrowers per capita. The figures below describe FY 2008 only; they are historical survey results, not current estimates.
Contents
- How to read the measure
- The highest reported rates
- States near the national rate
- Middle and lower-ranked results
- Complete state ranking
- What the FY 2008 figures show
How to read the measure
The statistic used here is registered borrowers per capita. It is a rate, not a count of cards issued and not a count of annual visits or checkouts. A value of 0.57 means the survey’s reported registered-borrower rate was 0.57 per person for the geography and period shown. The source presents the figures as a state ranking for FY 2008.
Because the table is from FY 2008, each number should be read with its measurement period attached. It is useful for comparing the reported historical rates within that table, but it does not describe library-card use in later years. The source also ranks the District of Columbia alongside the states, so it appears in the complete ranking below.
The source for every figure in this article is the IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY 2008 state ranking table. The supplied record identifies this as legacy research and says it was not independently verified; that status is retained here rather than treated as a new verification.
The highest reported rates
Nebraska had the highest reported registered-borrower rate in the FY 2008 ranking, at 0.78 per capita. Kansas followed at 0.77. Minnesota and New Mexico were tied at 0.76, while Oklahoma and Ohio were tied at 0.71.
These leading results form a compact group at the top of the historical table:
| Rank | State | Registered borrowers per capita | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska | 0.78 | FY 2008 |
| 2 | Kansas | 0.77 | FY 2008 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 0.76 | FY 2008 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 0.76 | FY 2008 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 0.71 | FY 2008 |
| 6 | Ohio | 0.71 | FY 2008 |
The next group also remained above the national rate of 0.57. Indiana ranked seventh at 0.69. Hawaii, Washington, and Iowa each reported 0.68 and occupied ranks eight through ten. Wyoming and Utah each recorded 0.66 at ranks eleven and twelve, followed by Wisconsin at 0.65.
Maine ranked fourteenth at 0.64, Vermont fifteenth at 0.63, and Connecticut sixteenth at 0.62. Missouri was seventeenth at 0.60, while New York ranked eighteenth at 0.59. Virginia, Arizona, and Maryland each reported 0.58 and ranked nineteenth through twenty-first.
States near the national rate
The national registered-borrower rate in the FY 2008 table was 0.57 per capita. Oregon, South Dakota, Alaska, and Massachusetts each matched that figure. Their ranks were twenty-second through twenty-fifth.
The next cluster was 0.56 per capita. Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, and Colorado shared that reported rate at ranks twenty-six through thirty. California, Kentucky, and Idaho each followed at 0.55, ranking thirty-first through thirty-third.
The table therefore places several states very close to the national figure, with only small displayed differences between neighboring groups. Those comparisons are limited to the rounded rates shown in the source ranking table; the supplied figures do not provide additional precision or a separate margin of error.
Here are the results around the national figure:
- Oregon: 0.57, rank 22, FY 2008
- South Dakota: 0.57, rank 23, FY 2008
- Alaska: 0.57, rank 24, FY 2008
- Massachusetts: 0.57, rank 25, FY 2008
- Arkansas: 0.56, rank 26, FY 2008
- Louisiana: 0.56, rank 27, FY 2008
- Florida: 0.56, rank 28, FY 2008
- North Carolina: 0.56, rank 29, FY 2008
- Colorado: 0.56, rank 30, FY 2008
- California: 0.55, rank 31, FY 2008
- Kentucky: 0.55, rank 32, FY 2008
- Idaho: 0.55, rank 33, FY 2008
Middle and lower-ranked results
New Jersey and Texas both reported 0.54 registered borrowers per capita and ranked thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth. New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina, and Alabama each reported 0.53, taking ranks thirty-six through thirty-nine. Michigan, the District of Columbia, and Montana each had 0.52 and ranked fortieth through forty-second.
At 0.50, Tennessee ranked forty-third and Rhode Island ranked forty-fourth. Mississippi reported 0.49 at forty-fifth. North Dakota was forty-sixth at 0.48, followed by Pennsylvania and Illinois, which both reported 0.47 at ranks forty-seven and forty-eight.
West Virginia ranked forty-ninth at 0.46. Nevada ranked fiftieth at 0.43, and Georgia ranked fifty-first at 0.40. These are the lowest displayed rates in the supplied FY 2008 state ranking table.
The lower portion of the ranking is not a separate kind of measure. It uses the same registered-borrowers-per-capita metric and the same FY 2008 period as the higher-ranked entries. The main difference is the position assigned in the source table and the rate shown for that state or district.
Complete state ranking
The complete ordering below preserves the source’s rank, geography, and FY 2008 rate. Equal rates can appear at multiple consecutive ranks because the table reports ties.
| Rank | Geography | Rate per capita |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska | 0.78 |
| 2 | Kansas | 0.77 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 0.76 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 0.76 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 0.71 |
| 6 | Ohio | 0.71 |
| 7 | Indiana | 0.69 |
| 8 | Hawaii | 0.68 |
| 9 | Washington | 0.68 |
| 10 | Iowa | 0.68 |
| 11 | Wyoming | 0.66 |
| 12 | Utah | 0.66 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 0.65 |
| 14 | Maine | 0.64 |
| 15 | Vermont | 0.63 |
| 16 | Connecticut | 0.62 |
| 17 | Missouri | 0.60 |
| 18 | New York | 0.59 |
| 19 | Virginia | 0.58 |
| 20 | Arizona | 0.58 |
| 21 | Maryland | 0.58 |
| 22 | Oregon | 0.57 |
| 23 | South Dakota | 0.57 |
| 24 | Alaska | 0.57 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | 0.57 |
| 26 | Arkansas | 0.56 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 0.56 |
| 28 | Florida | 0.56 |
| 29 | North Carolina | 0.56 |
| 30 | Colorado | 0.56 |
| 31 | California | 0.55 |
| 32 | Kentucky | 0.55 |
| 33 | Idaho | 0.55 |
| 34 | New Jersey | 0.54 |
| 35 | Texas | 0.54 |
| 36 | New Hampshire | 0.53 |
| 37 | Delaware | 0.53 |
| 38 | South Carolina | 0.53 |
| 39 | Alabama | 0.53 |
| 40 | Michigan | 0.52 |
| 41 | District of Columbia | 0.52 |
| 42 | Montana | 0.52 |
| 43 | Tennessee | 0.50 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 0.50 |
| 45 | Mississippi | 0.49 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 0.48 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania | 0.47 |
| 48 | Illinois | 0.47 |
| 49 | West Virginia | 0.46 |
| 50 | Nevada | 0.43 |
| 51 | Georgia | 0.40 |
What the FY 2008 figures show
The FY 2008 table places Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, and New Mexico at the top of the reported ranking, with rates from 0.76 to 0.78 registered borrowers per capita. At the other end, Nevada and Georgia appear at 0.43 and 0.40. The national figure shown by the source is 0.57.
The table also shows why rank and rate should be read together. Several geographies share the same displayed value: Minnesota and New Mexico both show 0.76; Oklahoma and Ohio both show 0.71; Hawaii, Washington, and Iowa each show 0.68; and multiple groups continue down the list. A tied rate can therefore correspond to different consecutive ranks in the source ordering.
For readers comparing library card statistics, the most important qualifiers are the metric, geography, and time period: registered borrowers per capita, each named state or the District of Columbia, and FY 2008. Those qualifiers keep the historical ranking distinct from a current library-card estimate or from other library measures such as visits, circulation, or program attendance.
Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY 2008 state ranking table. The figures are historical FY 2008 results, and the supplied source record identifies the research as legacy and not independently verified.