2025 Library Insights Report Now Available!
The Urban Libraries Council’s 2025 Library Insights Report captures how urban libraries are evolving to meet community needs, revealing continued growth in both in-person and digital engagement. This year’s report reflects a record 122 participating library systems across the U.S. and Canada, representing 2,307 locations and serving more than 91 million people.
Major takeaways include:
- Visits to libraries increased nearly 10% from 2023 to 2024, with meeting space use up 25% and digital resource demand up 15%.
- Compared to 2019, digital use has surged 58%, underscoring how libraries continue to adapt and innovate as essential community hubs for learning and connection.
- Early literacy and school-age programs remain core priorities, with 69% of libraries ranking them as the most frequently offered and highest attended
- Libraries have seen an 8% increase in the number of programs offered in 2024
- Computer usage recorded a 12% increase, breaking a trend that saw a 64% decline in usage in 2022 (compared to 2019) and a 70.6% decline in 2023 (compared to 2022)
- Budgets increased 5% in 2024, but an additional 5.4% would have been necessary to keep pace with inflation
Now in its third year, the Library Insights Survey draws on four years of member data to illuminate trends in library programs, staffing, budgets, and operations—offering a clear picture of where libraries are today and how they’re shaping the future.
What is the Library Insights Survey?
The Urban Libraries Council's annual Library Insights Survey (LIS) gathers key quantitative and qualitative data from ULC member libraries across four core categories:
- Attraction and Attendance
- Location Experience and Use of Space
- Programs and Services
- Staffing and Budget
By participating, your library not only gains valuable insights to support operational decisions and strategic planning—you also help shape a powerful, collective narrative about the health, growth, and impact of urban libraries across North America.
Why Your Participation Matters
Strength in Numbers
The more libraries that participate—across sizes, geographies, and resource levels—the stronger and more representative the data becomes. Together, we can tell a compelling national story about the evolving role of public libraries.
Peer Comparison and Performance Evaluation
The LIS allows you to benchmark against libraries of similar size and scope. Understand how your patrons are using your spaces, programs, and services, and identify opportunities to evolve in response to community needs.
Informing Federal Advocacy
ULC uses LIS data to power our advocacy on Capitol Hill, equipping lawmakers with real-world evidence of libraries’ essential value. In a time of uncertainty, LIS provides urgent and timely dara.
Media and Messaging Value
LIS findings are used in national media coverage to shift the public narrative around the state of libraries. This is the kind of informed storytelling our sector needs.
The LIS helps public libraries like our own have easily accessible data to drive decision-making. Without these types of tools, libraries would be spending their own staff time and resources that are too often in short supply
Colin Khem, Business Analytics Manager, Prince George's County Memorial Library System
What You'll Gain
Each year, once the annual survey data is analyzed, participating libraries gain access to updated interactive dashboards in ULC’s Data Hive. Members can use the Data Hive for year-over-year trend analysis and data visualization of key LIS metrics, exploring and benchmarking with peer library systems to filter by library service area population, budget, number of branches, region, country, and state
ULC also publishes an accompanying annual Library Insights Survey Report, which breaks down the trends of this year's data and offers recommendations. See the 2024 Library Insights Report below.
Access ULC’s Library Data Hive
Available to ULC Members Only
Annual Library Insights Survey data is compiled and featured in the ULC Library Data Hive. The ULC Data Hive displays the data collected from each annual Library Insights Survey—as well as publicly available demographic information—in interactive dashboards, charts and maps.
Data Hive User Guide
Looking for additional information about how to use the ULC Data Hive and view Advanced LIS Dashboards? Check out our user guide by clicking below!
Dig Into the Data
2025 Library Insights Survey Report
The 2025 Library Insights Report highlights how urban libraries are evolving to meet community needs, with findings showing steady growth in both in-person and digital engagement, leveraging four total years of member data.
2024 Library Insights Survey Report
Analysis and data snapshots of 2024 Library Insights Survey trends. Access information and data visualizations of emerging trends that capture current patron engagement with library programs, access to services and the building space itself.