The FY25 Public Library Annual Survey is now open for public library directors to complete. Directors should have received an email on Monday, Aug. 4 with instructions and login information for the survey platform.
Iowa public libraries are highly encouraged to participate in the Public Library Annual Survey, due each year on October 31. The data provided in the survey helps librarians compare performance, justify budget requests, and describe the condition of public libraries in Iowa. Local, state, and federal officials also use the data to help make funding and program decisions. Filing a complete annual survey is one of the requirements to receive Direct State Aid funding from the Enrich Iowa program.
For the FY25 survey, libraries should report activities from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, unless specified otherwise. A survey will not be considered complete until the required signature page is signed by the library director and board president and submitted.
FY25 Survey Changes
Below is a list of changes for the FY25 survey, which include some differences on how electornic resources data is collected.
- Deleted Questions: The below fields have been removed from the FY25 survey; the question numbers used in the FY24 survey are indicated in parentheses.
- Total e-books held at end of year (questions E05-E07)
- Total downloadable audio materials held at end of year (questions E13-E15)
- Total downloadable video materials held at end of year (question E21)
- Total licensed databases (questions E33-E35)
- Total successful retrieval of electronic information (database use) (questions F22-F24)
- Total electronic materials use (sum of database and downloadable use) (question F26)
- Total website visits (questions F46-F48)
- A series of Yes/No questions have been added to replace the more data intensive questions that were deleted. For example, rather than asking for total number of downloadable items, or use of databases, the survey asks if your library provided these services.
- Wireless and programming data from WhoFi is prefilled and unlocked; library directors can change those numbers if needed.
- Data from Bridges, Enrich Iowa, SILO, and Brainfuse is prefilled and locked. If any of that data is incorrect, please contact Gary Krob.
- Directory data in section A and hours open/square footage data in section H will be prefilled and locked based on last year’s answers. If any of that information has changed, contact Gary Krob.
- Lines E04, E12, E20 and E26 are prefilled based on last year’s answers. These are all unlocked and can be modified if needed.
The State Library has gathered information and resources on completing the survey at the link below: