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Overview · 5
Overview
ARL Statistics 2009–2010 is the latest in a series of annual publications that describe collections, staffing,
expenditures, and service activities for the 125 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Of these,
115 are university libraries the remaining 10 are public, governmental, and nonprofit research libraries. ARL
member libraries are the largest research libraries in North America, representing 18 Canadian and 107 US research
institutions. The academic libraries, which comprise 92% of the membership, include 16 Canadian and 99 US libraries.
Statistics have been collected and published annually for the members of the Association of Research Libraries
since 1961–62, and the data are available through an interactive Web interface. Prior to 1961–62, annual statistics
for university libraries were collected by James Gerould, first at the University of Minnesota and later at Princeton
University.1 These data, covering the years 1907–08 through 1961–62, are now called the Gerould statistics.2 The
whole data series from 1908, which is available on the ARL website,3 represents the oldest and most comprehensive
continuing library statistical series in North America.
ARL libraries are a relatively small subset of libraries in North America, but they do account for a large portion
of academic library resources in terms of assets, budgets, and the number of users they serve. The total library
expenditures of all 125 member libraries in 2009–2010 was slightly more than $4.2 billion from that, approximately
$3.2 billion was spent by the 115 university libraries and slightly more than $990 million by the nonuniversity
libraries. The pie charts below show how the two types of libraries divide these expenditures differently.
University Libraries 2009–2010 Nonuniversity Libraries 2009–2010
1 Kendon L. Stubbs and Robert E. Molyneux, Research Library Statistics 1907–08 through 1987–88. (Washington, DC: ARL, 1990).
2 Robert E. Molyneux, The Gerould Statistics 1907/08 – 1961/62. (Washington, DC: ARL, 1986) http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/gerould/.
3 http://www.arl.org/stats/annualsurveys/arlstats/mrstat.shtml.
Contract Binding
0.19%
Other Operating
32.64%
Library Materials
6.00%
Total Salaries
61.17%
Contract Binding
0.44%
Other Operating
11.15%
Library Materials
42.47%
Total Salaries
45.94%

ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics · 7
ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics
ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics is a subscription-based service for non ARL member libraries, for-profit and not-for-
profit entities, and researchers who wish to access the ARL Statistics® Analytics.
Librarians at ARL member libraries: Please get in touch with your ARL Statistics Primary Contact for
access to the ARL Statistics®. This person can facilitate access to the ARL Statistics® system for you.
ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics is a service that interactively analyzes ARL Statistics® data. ARL Statistics® Interactive
Analytics will allow you to:
• review the library data collected by ARL
• generate rankings of institutions by selected criteria
• create graphs from the data
• generate summary statistics for all ARL libraries
• download the data by year in spreadsheet format
• review the ARL indices
ARL is offering this subscription service to non-member organizations and individuals that are interested in
accessing the final verified data through an interactive interface. (All ARL member libraries have access to the ARL
Statistics® Analytics as soon as the data are submitted through the StatsQUAL® password-protected gateway at
arlstatistics.org).
The subscription fee is $500 for non-profit organizations and $750 for others. Interested organizations may email stats@
arl.org.
ARL Statistics® is a series of annual publications that describe the collections, expenditures, staffing, and service
activities for the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries. Statistics have been collected and published
annually for the members of the Association since 1961–62. Before that, annual statistics for university libraries were
collected by James Gerould, first at Minnesota and later at Princeton. These data cover the years 1907–08 through 1961–62
and are now called the Gerould statistics. The whole data series from 1908 to the present represents the oldest and
most comprehensive continuing library statistical series in North America. Print copies may be ordered from the ARL
Publications Program.
We would like to thank the University of Virginia for supporting the ARL Statistics Interactive edition from 1995 to 2010.
Special thanks to Texas A&M University and the University of Texas for enabling ARL to support data curation activities
like the ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics through their support and development of LibQUAL+® Analytics.