Random thoughts: As I know from my nearly 4 months as Interim Director at the Portage Public Library in 2009, having a below average percentage of circulation of children's materials is no reflection on the quality of or enthusiasm for providing library services to children. Dawn Foster is the evidence I offer to back up this observation.
Looking at the names of the libraries that are listed on these bar graphs, one might deduce that demographics play a small role -- and geography maybe not so much, as the majority of the top and bottom 20 libraries serve rural populations.
According to 2011 U. S. Census estimates,13.9% of Wisconsin residents are 65 years and over.
Marshfield (18.4%) and Wisconsin Rapids (19.8%) are above the state average in this category.
DeForest (8.7%) and Verona (9.8%) are below the state average. In addition, both of these communities are nearly 7 percentage points above the state average for persons under 18.
But beyond these cherry-picked examples, I am not be able to establish a unbroken pattern using all of the communities listed in the bar graph below. Waterford, for example, is above the average percentage for both the under-18 and 65-and-over categories.
Other tables:
Circulation and interlibrary loans. (11/14/2012)
Circulation per hour. (10/26/2012)
County revenue including non-system county payments. (10/25.2012)
Municipal, county, all other revenue. (10/17/2012)
Total programs and attendance. (10/14/2012)
Other (i.e., mostly adult) programs and attendance. (10/12/2012)
Young adult programs and attendance. (10/12/2012)
Children's programs and attendance. (10/11/2012)
Books, audio, video. (10/9/2012)
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