Wisconsin Public Library Circulation, 1990-2013

Source:  Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Since its 2009 peak, "traditional" public library circulation in Wisconsin has declined nearly 7%.

For me, the line graph here would be more instructive if we had a breakdown of print and audiovisual formats.  At the Middleton Public Library, for example, circulation of print materials increased 32% from 2004 to 2007.  Circulation of audiovisual materials increased 40% during the same period. Not a significant difference, I'd say.

Are both formats now similarly contributing to a decline in "traditional" circulation?

This caveat in the Instructions for the Wisconsin Public Library Annual Report (2013) should be noted here.  

Do not include Overdrive or NetLibrary use (uses of these non - physical materials are reported in 7, below ) . Interlibrary loan items provided to the library and checked out by the library should be reported her e as a circulation . Do not include interlibrary loan items sent, or checked out to, another library.

"Uses of downloadable content" = 2,215,193 in 2013, an increase of 69.2% over the previous year's total of 1,309,122.  (No earlier statewide statistics are available in the Service Data report.)