Library Journal - Book Buying Survey 2005--The Turnaround

Library Journal - Book Buying Survey 2005--The Turnaround

Where do folks go when they want advice on fixing faucets, backyard decks, or a fancy birthday dinner? These days, they head to the public library, where the ever-popular how-to collection has never been doing so well. And if they want to relax after the job is done, they can always cozy up to the latest from a favorite mystery writer or hot new novelist. With fiction now claiming more of the public library budget than nonfiction, they'll have plenty of choices.

These are just some of the conclusions drawn from LJ's annual book-buying survey of public libraries. (Contacted yearly, with new libraries periodically replacing those that have left the survey, the LJ 125 are distributed evenly throughout the country by population.) The good news is that as librarians scramble to satisfy the reading habits of millions, better funding may be on the way. Though budgetary gains have drifted downward in the seven years since this survey was initiated (see "Adult Book Budgets, 1998–2004," p. 38), finally registering a decrease last year, the situation has begun to turn around. At 0.18 percent, the overall increase reported by this year's respondents is indeed slender. But it's a big improvement over last year's 3.3 percent drop and hopefully presages stronger budgets to come.