Cover letter to State Data Coordinators

December 11, 2007

Dear State Data Coordinator:

I am writing to request your participation in the Public Libraries Survey (PLS) for fiscal year (FY) 2007, conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), through the Federal-State Cooperative System (FSCS) for Public Library Data. IMLS is authorized to collect these data under 20 U.S.C. sec. 9108 (Analysis of impact of museum and library services)

Your participation in this annual census of over 9,000 public libraries in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the outlying areas is both important and voluntary. All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes (e.g., the calculation of state and national totals) and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purposes, unless otherwise compelled by law. Your response to this survey will contribute to a national file of public library data that will be available to the library research community, state and federal policy makers, and other interested users.

States have been placed into one of three reporting groups (see table below) based on their fiscal cycles or extraordinary reporting hardship, in order to stagger data submissions and thus enable timelier processing and release of the survey report and data file.

Reporting group and fiscal cycle	States and U.S. territories	Survey due date
Group #1 (July–June)	AK, AZ, CA, CT, DE, GA, HI, IA, KY, MA, MD, MT, NC, NM, NV, OK, OR, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV, WY	April 17, 2008
Group #2 (October–September, January–December)	AL, AR, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, NY, OH, PA, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands	July 31, 2008
Group #3* (January–December)	NJ, TX	August 28, 2008

*extraordinary reporting hardship

The FY 2007 PLS has a firm due date of April 17, 2008 for group #1 states, July 31, 2008 for group #2 states, and August 28, 2008 for group #3 states. No state data submission will be accepted after the due date specified for the state. Please note: If you cannot submit data for all of your public libraries by the due date, please submit the data you do have available, in lieu of no data submission.

The FY 2007 data collection will be conducted over the Internet via a web-based reporting system called WebPLUS (Web Public Library Universe System). The scheduled web release date is December 11, 2007. If you need any assistance in the use of WebPLUS, please call Cynthia Ramsey at 1-800-451-6235.

This package contains the following materials for completion of the survey, with the exception of the WebPLUS User’s Guide (see note in item 1):

1. WebPLUS User's Guide, Version 1.1. This guide contains important information for using the web-based survey application, including an overview of its key components, detailed instructions on processing your data, data element definitions, edit check criteria, and other useful information. The user’s guide is available in the web application by clicking on the View WebPLUS User’s Guide button on the introductory page. Note: A print copy will be mailed before the December 11 WebPLUS release date.

2. Five attachments, as follows:

• Attachment A. State Data Coordinator Certificate. This document contains the web address for WebPLUS online data collection, your PLS user ID and password, survey due dates, and PLS Help Desk information. Please keep this document in a safe place, and do not share your user ID or password with anyone.

• Attachment B. Data Submission Requirements. This document lists the data submission requirements.

• Attachment C. Important Points in Reporting Your Data. This document discusses valid data entry and other important information. Please review it before completing the survey.

• Attachment D. Francis Keppel Award Criteria. This document lists the criteria for this award. States that accumulate at least 16 out of the 20 maximum points will receive the award.

• Attachment E. State Librarian Certification of Public Library Data, Fiscal Year 2007.

A signed copy of this document must be returned for your data submission to be complete. If your state librarian would like to review the data, you may print tables using the WebPLUS Reports menu option “Tables”.

Your mentor, Census, and IMLS will work cooperatively with you to review your data and resolve any problems. The data will be processed as follows:

• After you lock your data, Census will review your submission within one day and contact you if any problems need immediate attention before edit follow-up.

• Census will edit your data shortly after submission and send you their findings with a request that you return any corrections within three weeks. If you do not correct or satisfactorily justify highly questionable data identified by Census, the questionable data will be adjusted.

• When data are received from all survey participants, the FSCS Steering Committee, IMLS, and Census will review the preliminary national file and tables. Census will contact you about questionable data based on this review.

• The final file will be created, with data products forthcoming.

As you know, the survey will be transferred to IMLS on October 1, 2007. The FY2007 survey report and data file will be released on their website at www.imls.gov. The web-based data tools (Compare Public Libraries and Search for Public Libraries) and all historical reports and data files will also reside on their website after the transfer.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no person should be asked to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is3137-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 40hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this collection of information, please write to: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1800 M Street NW, 9^th Floor, Washington DC 20036-5802.

If you have any questions regarding this data collection, please contact [TBD]. We look forward to receiving your FY 2007 data submission. I thank you for your cooperation in this important effort.

Sincerely,

Attachments

Attachment A (page 1 of 1)

State Data Coordinator Certificate

FY 2007 Public Libraries Survey (PLS)

Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data

Please keep this certificate in a safe place and

do not share the password with anyone.

State:

PLS USERID:

PLS Password:

(Note: Passwords are case sensitive)

Data Collection Website:

Survey Due Dates:

Reporting group and fiscal cycle	States and U.S. territories	Survey due date
Group #1 (July–June)	AK, AZ, CA, CT, DE, GA, HI, IA, KY, MA, MD, MT, NC, NM, NV, OK, OR, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV, WY	April 17, 2008
Group #2 (October–September, January–December)	AL, AR, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, NY, OH, PA, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands	July 31, 2008
Group #3 (January–December)	NJ, TX	August 28, 2008

PLS HELP DESK: [email protected]

1-800-451-6235

Attachment B. Data Submission Requirements (page 1 of 1)

Please note the following important requirements:

1. Critical edits must be resolved. Noncritical edits must be reviewed and annotated.

2. Edit annotations must be imported into WebPLUS.

3. After completion of the above steps and when your data are considered edited and final, you must lock your data. This signifies the official submission of your state data.

4. A signed State Librarian Certification form (Attachment E) must be submitted. When you submit the form, NCES requests that you enter (in the box provided near the bottom) the number of hours it took to prepare your data for entry into WebPLUS and to review and annotate the edit report. NCES is required to provide the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with statistics regarding your total paperwork burden.

Attachment C. Important Points in Reporting Your Data

1. Valid data entry. The WebPLUS software uses a -2 to indicate a blank data field that needs your response. The user must replace all -2s with a valid entry (i.e., -1, -3, 0, a positive number, or alphanumeric data, as appropriate) before locking the data. Estimates can be used if exact data are not available.

Note: Inaccurate reporting of -1 versus 0 adversely affects data quality, prevents reliable imputations, and results in inaccurate state totals/national totals/trend data. It is very important to remind local respondents of the correct reporting of -1 versus 0 (defined in table below) as part of every data collection.

The following responses are valid in WebPLUS:

Numeric Data Elements:
Any positive number for numeric data elements	Enter the appropriate numeric data.
0	Zero means, “We have none of this item” for numeric data (e.g., the library does not maintain a video collection).
-1	“-1” means “We don’t know the answer, don’t collect the data, or can’t get the data right now.”
-3	“-3” means “Not Applicable” and is used for this item only:
	Square Footage of Outlet (use only for Bookmobiles and Books-by-Mail Only outlets)
Alphanumeric Data Elements:
Alphabetic and/or numeric data for alphanumeric data elements	Enter the appropriate alphabetic and/or numeric data. Some items require the selection of codes for data (e.g., Interlibrary Relationship Code = HQ, ME, or NO). See Appendix B of the user guide.
-3	“-3” means “Not Applicable” and is used for these items only:
	Phone (use only if library has no phone)
	Web Address (use only if library has no Web Address)
Structure, Name, and Address Changes:
-3	“-3” means “Not Applicable” and is used for these items only:
	Structure, name, and location status change codes
	LINKID, OLDID, and PARENTID

2. Historical tracking. WebPLUS tracks historical (inter-year) changes in the identity and structure of administrative entities and outlets. Historical tracking is performed on (a) name changes, (b) address changes, and (c) structural changes (e.g., library closings, the addition of new libraries, and library mergers).

3. Total Unduplicated Population of Legal Service Areas (data element 103 on the state characteristics screen) and Population of the Legal Service Area (data element 208 on the administrative entity “Population/Outlets/Staff” screen). These data are critical for per capita calculations and presentation of data by population ranges in the survey report. Please be certain to:

• Report Population of Legal Service Area for all administrative entities.

• Verify that the Total Unduplicated Population of Legal Service Areas does NOT exceed the total Population of the Legal Service Area for all administrative entities. (Edit check #10323 will assist you.)

4. ‘State Summary: Two-Year Percent Change and Net Change’ table. This table is on worksheet ‘T1’ in the Excel workbook that you can generate with the WebPLUS Reports menu option ‘Tables’. Please review this table prior to submitting your data. Large 2-year changes may indicate significant errors still remaining on your file.

4. WebPLUS 1.2 Revisions. There are no changes or revisions for the FY 2007 survey.

6. Each administrative entity may report either no central library or one central library. No administrative entity may report more than one central library. In the administrative entity file, this simply means reporting ‘0’ or ‘1’ for central library. Where two or more libraries are considered ‘centrals’ for state or local purposes, one central library and one or more branch libraries should be reported to FSCS. If you wish to identify a central library in the outlet file, identify the library with the largest collection as the central library for FSCS purposes, and report all others as branches. Where there are several co-equal outlets and no principal collection, report all such outlets as branches, not central libraries.

7. The outlet records of administrative entities should be created according to the follow logic:

• The central library (if any) of an administrative entity MUST have a separate outlet record created for it. Therefore, the Number of Centrals (data element 209 on the administrative entity “Population/Outlets/Staff” screen) must equal the number of outlet records with Outlet Type Code = ‘CE’ (data element 709 on the outlet screen).

• Each branch library of an administrative entity MUST have a separate outlet record created for it. Therefore, the Number of Branches (data element 210 on the administrative entity “Population/Outlets/Staff” screen) must equal the number of outlet records with Outlet Type Code = ‘BR’ (data element 709 on the outlet screen).

• The bookmobiles of an administrative entity MUST be reported on outlet record(s) with Outlet Type Code = ‘BS’. Bookmobiles cannot be reported on a central or branch outlet record (i.e., records with Outlet Type Code = ‘CE’ or ‘BR’). Therefore, the Number of Bookmobiles (data element 211 on the administrative entity “Population/Outlets/Staff” screen) must equal the total Number of Bookmobiles (data element 712 on the outlet screen) in outlet record(s) with Outlet Type Code = ‘BS’ (data element 709 on the outlet screen). Please note:

• A separate outlet record may be created for each bookmobile. You may wish to create separate outlet records for individual bookmobiles if (1) they have different addresses and/or (2) they have different Metropolitan Status Codes.

• Alternatively, a bookmobile outlet record may include more than one bookmobile. Example: An administrative entity with four bookmobiles (reported in data element 211 on the administrative entity “Population/Outlets/Staff” screen) may report these bookmobiles in three separate outlet records coded ‘BS’, with the number of bookmobiles in each outlet record equal to one, one, and two, respectively. Thus, the three outlet records report a total of four bookmobiles, which equals the 4 bookmobiles reported on the administrative entity record.

• Outlet Type Code = ‘BM’ (Books-by-Mail Only). Only Books-by-Mail services that are housed separately from any other type of direct public service outlet (that is, central library, branches, or bookmobiles) should be coded ‘BM’. If you have more than one Books-by-Mail Only service, you must create a separate outlet record for each service. Note: The number of Books-by-Mail Only service outlets is not reported on the administrative entity screen.

8. Name (of administrative entity or outlet). Do not use acronyms. Do not abbreviate the name unless it exceeds the new WebPLUS field length of 60 characters. Avoid abbreviations at the beginning of the name, and do not punctuate abbreviations. (See Appendix I—Standard Abbreviations for WebPLUS.) This is because customers using the web tools called Compare Public Libraries at http://XXXXXX and Search for Public Libraries at http://XXXXXXXXXXX have complained that they cannot find a library. This is often because the customer searched under the full library name, but the library abbreviated its name or used an acronym. For this reason, we request that abbreviations and acronyms not be used.

8. Square Footage of Outlet. Please provide this information for each central or branch outlet. All bookmobiles and books-by-mail only outlets are coded –3 (Not Applicable). Response to this item is very important because missing data are not imputed.

Attachment D. Francis Keppel Award Criteria (page 1 of 3)

Keppel Award Point Criteria – Group 1
(Minimum points required for award = 16 Maximum Points = 20)
	Points
Submission Points
Data Submission on or before March 20	10
Data Submission received March 21 through March 27	8
Data Submission received March 28 through April 3	6
Data Submission received April 4 through April 10	4
Data Submission received April 11 through April 17	2
Data Submission received after April 17	Disqualified
Edit Follow-up Points
Responded to Edit Follow-up within two weeks	10
Responded to Edit Follow-up within three weeks	8
Did not responded to Edit Follow-up	Disqualified
Item Non Response
A data item that has been collected over 3 years is missing for an entire state	Disqualified
Note: IMLS makes the final decision on who receives the Keppel Award.
Note: A data submission includes a data file and an annotated edit report.

Attachment D. Francis Keppel Award Criteria (page 2 of 3)

Keppel Award Point Criteria – Group 2
(Minimum points required for award = 16 Maximum Points = 20)
	Points
Submission Points
Data Submission on or before July 2	10
Data Submission received July 3 through July 10	8
Data Submission received July 11 through July 17	6
Data Submission received July 18 through July 24	4
Data Submission received July 25 through July 31	2
Data Submission received after July 31	Disqualified
Edit Follow-up Points
Responded to Edit Follow-up within two weeks	10
Responded to Edit Follow-up within three weeks	8
Did not responded to Edit Follow-up	Disqualified
Item Non Response
A data item that has been collected over 3 years is missing for an entire state	Disqualified
Note: IMLS makes the final decision on who receives the Keppel Award.
Note: A data submission includes a data file and an annotated edit report.

Attachment D. Francis Keppel Award Criteria (page 3 of 3)

Keppel Award Point Criteria – Group 3
(Minimum points required for award = 16 Maximum Points = 20)
	Points
Submission Points
Data Submission received on or before August 14	10
Data Submission received August 15 through August 21	6
Data Submission received August 22 through August 28	2
Data Submission received after August 28	Disqualified
Edit Follow-up Points
Responded to Edit Follow-up within two weeks	10
Responded to Edit Follow-up within three weeks	8
Did not responded to Edit Follow-up	Disqualified
Item Non Response
A data item that has been collected over 3 years is missing for an entire state	Disqualified
Note: IMLS makes the final decision on who receives the Keppel Award.
Note: A data submission includes a data file and an annotated edit report.

Attachment E. State Librarian Certification of Public Library Data, FY 2007 (page 1 of 1)

Institute of Museum and Library Services

Federal-State Cooperative System (FSCS)

for Public Library Data

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the data submitted by the FSCS State Data Coordinator for the Public Libraries Survey, FY 2007 are accurate.

___________________________

State Name

__________________________________________________

State Librarian’s Name (Please print)

___________________________________________________

State Librarian’s Signature

_______________________

Date

Estimated number of hours State Data Coordinator took to complete the survey:	Hours

Please fax this form toll free to:

PLS Staff @ 1-866-394-0138

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