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News Release2002-29 Books More Popular than Donuts: 1999 Library StatisticsOttawa, November 27, 2002 -- "At the start of the new century, there are more libraries in Canada than Tim Hortons and McDonald’s restaurants combined - 22 000 compared to 2 049 ‘Tim’s’ and more than 1 200 McDonald’s. And for every three donuts sold by Tim Hortons in 1999, one book or other item was accessed by someone in a library somewhere in the country." This remarkable information is part of an impressive report that was released today by the Library and Archives of Canada entitled National Core Library Statistic Program - Statistical Report 1999: Cultural and Economic Impact of Libraries on Canada. The Statistics Program collects information on the facilities and services of our country’s library network and measures the overall impact on Canadian society of library services. Data from 1 490 public, academic and special libraries nation-wide was collected and analyzed. For example, in 1999, each library answered an average of 21 000 inquiries, circulated 186 000 publications, facilitated 69 000 on-site uses of collections, owned 202 000 items and spent $1.1 million on staffing and collections. Results of the study demonstrate the significant role libraries of all types play in Canadian society. In 1999 alone, library users asked librarians and their staff more than 40 million questions, an average of 110 000 inquiries per day every day of the year. This works out to 1.3 questions posed per year by every man, woman and child in this country. "Libraries have made and continue to make a difference in the quality of life of every Canadian," said Dr. Roch Carrier, National Librarian. "They symbolize freedom of expression, they promote literacy and reading and they provide both young and old with access to new worlds." Dr. Alvin M. Schrader, who along with Michael R. Brundin co-authored the report, adds that Canadian library users are estimated to have consulted well over one million library publications per day every day of 1999, on average more than 13 items per person. The Statistical Report 1999 was released on the 10th anniversary of the Advisory Committee for the National Core Library Statistic Program. Other reports have provided vital information for the years 1994, 1995 and 1996. Of the 1 490 libraries surveyed for the 1999 report, 60% of them were public libraries, 15% academic, and 25% special libraries. Funding for the Statistics Program was received from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the National Library of Canada, with additional support from the Canadian Library Association, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, the Council of Administrators of Large Urban Public Libraries, the Association pour l’avancement des sciences et des techniques de la document and members of the Provincial and Territorial Library Directors’ Council. The report is available online at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/8/3/r3-203-e.html. - 30 - Information: Pauline M. Portelance Ralph Manning |