Data & Analytics

ARL gathers and disseminates data and analytics on research library practices, effectiveness, and impact.

Our Research and Analytics program pursues a research agenda for the Association. We collect and analyze data on all aspects of research libraries’ roles in scholarly and scientific production, learning facilitation and learner success, and knowledge access and sustainability.

The program supports an active community for librarians interested in library assessment, evaluation, and improvement. This community shares approaches and solutions to problems through two activities:

• ARL maintains an online email community, ARL-Assess, that is open to all who are interested in joining. Sign up for the list on the Google Groups subscription page.
• The Library Assessment Conference, co-sponsored by ARL and the University of Washington, is a biennial event that gathers practitioners and researchers. The conference provides a mix of invited speakers, contributed papers and posters, and workshops.

Contact Kevin Borden (kborden@arl.org) with questions.

How University of Arizona Libraries Are Building Data Science Skills for Students and Faculty

The Harvard Business Review once described the work of a data scientist as the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” One University of Arizona data scientist looked at 10 universities...

Research Library Impact Framework Initiative and Pilots

ARL’s Research Library Impact Framework initiative was established in 2019 with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and extends the recommendations developed by the Assessment...

ARL Salary Survey Statistical Trends

The following papers, reports, and presentations highlight demographic shifts in the ARL workforce over time based on analyses of demographic data collected as part of the annual ARL Salary Survey....

ARL Statistics Survey Statistical Trends

These graphs highlight trends emerging from data collected as part of the annual ARL Statistics survey. Click on the links below to download the graph or data table....

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  2021 Changes to Naming Convention for Annual Surveys

  ARL will modify the naming convention used to refer to the survey cycle and associated publications. Rather than use a date range for the ARL Statistics and ARL Salary Survey,...

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  ARL Annual Salary Survey

  This survey gathers data on salaries for more than 14,000 professional positions in ARL member libraries and tracks minority representation in ARL US libraries. The data collected include the average,...

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  ARL Statistics® Survey

  This survey collects data that describe the collections, overall library expenditures, materials expenditures, staffing, and operational and service activities of member libraries. This data series began in 1908 and represents...

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  ASU Library Tool Helps COVID-19 Researchers Sift, Analyze New Research Results

  The Arizona State University (ASU) Library’s Data Science and Analytics unit has developed a tool to accelerate COVID-19 research by helping researchers efficiently browse and understand the vast amount of...

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  DataBridge Prepares Students for Careers in Data Science

  The University Libraries at Virginia Tech is helping students develop skills to succeed in the fast-growing field of data science. DataBridge, an undergraduate research program offered by the libraries, provides...

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  Johns Hopkins Libraries Explore Impact of Collections on Students’ Mental Wellness

  Can library spaces and collections—both physical and digital—foster a sense of well-being and engagement with the community? Like many college students in the United States, students at Johns Hopkins University...

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  Making the Library More Inclusive by Learning from Black Students

  Duke University Libraries staff are using findings from an in-depth study of Black students to make library spaces and services more welcoming, inclusive, and supportive. Black undergraduates and graduate students...

• Research Library Impact Framework Initiative and Pilots: Attracting and Retaining Top Researchers and Faculty

  Research question: (How) do the library's collections play a role in attracting and retaining top researchers and faculty to the institution? Project Team and Description Practice Brief: University of Texas...

• Research Library Impact Framework Initiative and Pilots: Equitable Student Outcomes and an Inclusive Learning Environment

  Research question: (How) does the library contribute to equitable student outcomes and an inclusive learning environment? Project Teams Pilot Project: Texas Tech University Practice Brief: University of Washington Project Descriptions...

• Research Library Impact Framework Initiative and Pilots: Library Spaces

  Research question: (How) do library spaces facilitate innovative research, creative thinking, and problem-solving? Project Teams Pilot Project: University of Florida Pilot Project: Iowa State University Pilot Project: Syracuse University Practice...