Research Shows Higher Overall Library Usage in Public Libraries that Use BiblioCommons

In order to determine the impact of subscribing to its public library software, BiblioCommons recently retained an independent consultant to complete an in-depth statistical analysis of the impact of BiblioCommons online services on North American public libraries.

What they discovered is that subscribing to BiblioCommons correlates with an increase in circulation per capita anywhere from 25% to 57%, and results in 9% more visits per capita on average, compared to public libraries that do not subscribe to BiblioCommons services. This is true when accounting for other potential influences, including population size and density, operating budgets, collection size, and historical circulation trends.

“We’re excited to have data affirm what we have intuitively believed to be true for some time now: Digital services are critical to the public library customer experience,” explained Beth Jefferson, Co-Founder and CEO of BiblioCommons. “But perhaps most importantly, not all digital experiences are created equal. Design matters. Details matter.”

The consultant drew upon the full Public Library Data Service (PLDS) dataset over a seven year period from 2011 to 2017. The study compared data from libraries that use the BiblioCommons BiblioCore catalog with libraries that do not, taking into account a number of other metrics from the surveys. Those interested in seeing the statistical analysis are encouraged to contact info@bibliocommons.com for details.

‍