You probably heard about the NEA report on reading that was released this week “To Read or Not to Read: A question of National Consequence”.

Whatever you opinion about the report, I thought it a good time to remind you of the wealth of statistics on WebJunction Connecticut in case you get a call from a reporter along the lines of “I understand no one is reading anymore.”

We have 5 years of statistics available online

Joanne Turschman, State Library Data Coordinator, pulled together a few statewide stats that may be helpful. She was able to pull the very latest stats from the reports that were just submitted last week from public libraries. Of course you can find the statistics for your individual library by visiting the full online statistical profiles.

Total circulation has been fairly stable over the last six years. This year it decreased slightly, but this was in a year when several larger libraries were in temporary buildings or closed for part of the year because of construction.

2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007
total circ.
30,986,655 31,092,151 30,374,748 30,401,790 30,232,262

Print Circulation*
20,044,723 19,953,338 19,268,234 19,087,554 19,175,571
*includes serials

adult books circ.
10,495,470 10,343,321 10,235,321 10,123,660 10,247,453

Library program
attendance
1,307,591 1,354,727 1,452,112 1,514,767 1,541,280

library visits 21,168,522 21,605,801 20,928,205 20,975,514 20,958,662

The national average circulation per capita is 7.2. In Connecticut it is 8.7.
The national percentage of juvenile circulation is 34.7%. In Connecticut it is 43%.