Based on our current full award of Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) 2025 funds, and contingent on our continuing ability to draw down LSTA funds from our federal funder, the State Library of Oregon plans to pay for all costs associated with the Oregon's Public Library Statistics Program for the current fiscal year from July 2025-June 2026.
This funding pays for:
Our Data and Digital Projects Consultant (through September 2026).
The 2024-25 statistics gathering and publishing process.
Creation and maintenance of data tools and visualizations for libraries and the general public.
Convening of Oregon's Public Library Statistics Advisory Group and participation in national discussions on public library data.
The State Library of Oregon's participation in the state's Data Governance and Transparency Program.
Access to previously gathered Oregon public library statistics will remain beyond June 2026.
Based on our continuing uncertainty about LSTA 2026 funding:
We are making minimal changes to the 2024-25 report questions.
We are not looking to expand data visualizations beyond our current products.
We advise libraries to be prepared for the possibility that some statistics currently being gathered may not be reported statewide, and that the future of the national Public Library Survey dataset program is unknown. At this point, we do not know when or if additional public library data (including the last two years' data already reported) will be published in a national dataset by the IMLS.
Even should we lose our federal funds, we will continue to gather public library statistics in Oregon, although that process likely would be much scaled down.
For more general information and updates on Oregon's LSTA funding, please visit this page on the State Library of Oregon website or reach out to us directly.
