Who Do We Think We Are? Library Sector Populations in Australia

ABSTRACT

A full census of Australian libraries has not been conducted for many years. Yet this does not remove the strategic importance for Australian libraries and library professionals to understand their context. This paper describes the methodology and results from a research project to map Australian libraries within their populations, and better understand the numeric composition of Australian library sectors. Sectoral information was gathered from identified Australian library peak associations, usually based on membership numbers. This information was then synthesised to minimise cross-sectoral overlaps and double-counting, and reach an estimated population count for each sector. Population estimates for some sectors were further compared against relevant directories and databases to corroborate findings where the accuracy of the source data was questionable. The resulting information paints a picture that is indicative of the extent of Australian library populations in early 2018.

KEYWORDS:

• Library populations
• national, state and territory libraries
• public libraries
• school libraries
• special libraries
• university libraries
• vocational education and training libraries

Introduction

What does the Australian library population look like today? How many libraries are there in Australia? How many in each jurisdiction? What are the Australian library sectors and what is the population of each? Developing a better understanding of the modern Australian library environment is a matter of strategic importance that underpins many aspects of evidence-based practice. However, gaining such an understanding is far from straightforward. There is limited up-to-date research on these topics, and when consulting peak bodies and experts in the field, the usual answer is ‘we don’t really know’.

The Libraries Australia service within the National Library of Australia has recently been interested in exploring the answers to these questions from several perspectives. These were to: better understand the nature of the Australian library community and the breadth of its information needs; test the accuracy and currency of the Australian Libraries Gateway and Interlibrary Resource Sharing directories delivered by the National Library of Australia; and enumerate sectoral membership of Libraries Australia. The object of this research was therefore to gather numeric, census-type data on Australian library sector populations.

Literature Review

The ways in which libraries are characterised vary widely. The traditional dictionary definition is a location-based institution containing largely hard-copy material (Macquarie Dictionary, 2017). The broader, modern definition is of ‘a collection of resources in a variety of formats that is: organised by information professionals or other experts who; provide convenient physical, digital, bibliographic, or intellectual access and; offer targeted services and programs; with the mission of educating, informing, or entertaining a variety of audiences; and the goal of stimulating individual learning and advancing society as a whole’ (Eberhart, 2010).

No matter which definition was used, a search for library population figures for Australia found limited current information, mainly sectoral (Brown, 2015; Bundy, 2012; Kammermann, 2016). No modern census of Australian libraries as a whole could be identified (J. Brooker, personal communication, 18 January 2017). Two historical censuses of Australian library services were conducted in 1979 and 1983 under the auspices of the Australian Advisory Council on Bibliographical Services (AACOBS). These gathered data relating to library collections, users and loans, inter-library loan demand, staff and expenditure, categorised by sector (Australian Advisory Council on Bibliographical Services. Task Force on Library Statistics, 1985; Borchardt, 1982). The convenors of these census projects noted that, apart from practical concerns around response rates and interpretation of terms by respondents, it was difficult to identify survey populations. This was due, in part, to the lack of a complete listing of Australian libraries (Mayman, 1985). Interestingly, Wikipedia provides a modern attempt at a library listing, with the prosaically titled List of Libraries in Australia (2018). However, as with the AACOBS experience during the 1980s, the list is far from comprehensive, with notable gaps for school, special and vocational education libraries.

There are a number of major 20th century reports, histories and research papers documenting aspects of libraries in Australia. However, these tend to count libraries by staffing, budget, the number of volumes contained in collections and/or subject matters; the number of libraries or library service points tend to be tangential.

The 1935 report on Australian libraries by Munn and Pitt (1935) discusses the adequacy of Australian library services. It considers the collections, budgets and staffing levels of selected parliamentary, national, state, public, special, and university libraries, with recommendations for their ongoing development. McColvin’s review (1947) focuses on Australian public and subscription library populations, expenditure and subject matters, but also reviews selected government, national and state, school and university libraries. Tauber’s report (1963) is a ‘systematic survey of the total library resources of the nation’, with detailed consideration of the collections of national, state, public, university, college, school and special libraries. Each of these reports has been important in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of available library collections and services and making recommendations for improvement. However, none is intended to function as a census, and comprehensive population counts are not provided.

Balnaves (1966) takes a different approach, providing a brief history of Australian libraries, library conditions and prospects, with a particular focus on the number of volumes held in national and state, public, academic and selected special libraries. Biskup and Goodman’s (1995) work is a considerably lengthier publication that also surveys the history of Australian library sectors. Here, the focus is on the services provided by national and state, public, school, tertiary, and special libraries, and archival and manuscript repositories, rather than on the numeric composition of their collections. Rochester (1994) discusses the services offered by different library sectors in the context of building a distributed national collection. None of these three works includes a general count of total library populations.

The Register of Libraries in Australia (1961) was compiled for UNESCO by the Library Association of Australia’s Committee on Library Statistics. It was the prelude to the potential distribution of an international UNESCO questionnaire titled Statistics in Libraries. Participation in the Register was voluntary and libraries with collections containing less than 500 volumes were excluded. It is also not clear to what extent libraries in the same organisation were grouped together as an entity. While not intended as a census, the Register nevertheless provides a picture of library populations in 1960, recording details for the National Library of Australia, ten university libraries, six state libraries, 363 public libraries, 1,367 school libraries, 667 subscription libraries and 522 special libraries.

Numerous library directories have been produced over the years, with editions of both general and sector-specific publications appearing regularly. The more recent of these include the Directory of Australian Academic and Research Libraries (Bundy & Bundy, 1996), Directory of Australian Public Libraries Bundy & Bundy, 2010b) and Directory of Special Libraries in Australia (Eames, 1999). While the style of each directory varies, all provide information about collection size, subject scope, staffing and contacts within their sector. Australian Libraries: The Essential Directory (ALED) provides a cross-sectoral directory of many Australian academic, joint use, public and special libraries (Bundy & Bundy, 2010a), again listing each library’s location, contact and subject specialisations. While each of these directories enables libraries to be located and contacted, they too, were not intended to function as a census, and do not offer a comprehensive count of libraries or library service points categorised by sector.

Libraries Australia Administration is a system module that manages access to Libraries Australia services (National Library of Australia, 2014) for individuals, organisations and the Libraries Australia team. Libraries Australia Administration contains details of both current and former members of the Libraries Australia service. While useful, Libraries Australia Administration cannot provide a complete representation of library populations, since not all Australian libraries are, or have been, members of Libraries Australia.

The Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG) is a web-based directory containing information on over 5,000 Australian libraries and cultural organisations (National Library of Australia, 2013). ALG has broad sectoral and organisational coverage. However, data recording is self-selected, and entirely at the discretion of the individual organisation, and there are well-known issues with the currency and accuracy of ALG entries (Kammermann, 2016). As with Libraries Australia Administration, ALG does not provide a complete picture, though it is perhaps the closest currently available source of information on library populations in Australia.

Methodology

Given the lack of current published population data, an alternate strategy is needed to determine sectoral library populations. Various peak associations were approached for their insights into the Australian library population. As the national association with the greatest overall coverage of the different library sectors, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) was consulted regarding its knowledge of total Australian library populations. ALIA has a very good knowledge of the overall Australian library environment and trends, and its own members, but the association has a somewhat lesser knowledge of population specifics for non-members.

Beyond ALIA, there are numerous peak library associations in Australia, covering a variety of library interests and specialisations, as shown in Table 1. These are assumed to have the strongest knowledge of their own specialisations, and each association was approached for insights into their member populations, to the best of their understanding. The information provided by each peak association has been used as the basis for determining relevant sectoral populations, with additional reference to other corroborating sources as required.

Table 1. Australian library sector peak associations.

Association	Acronym	Sector(s) Covered	Membership
ALIA Health Libraries Australia	HLA	Special – health and medical	Individual and institutional
Arts Libraries Society Australia and New Zealand	Arlis/ANZ	Special – art	Individual and institutional
Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia	APLA	Special – parliamentary	Institutional
Australian and New Zealand Theological Libraries Association	ANZTLA	Special – theological	Individual and institutional
Australian Government Libraries Information Network	AGLIN	Special – federal, state and territory government	Institutional
Australian Law Librarians’ Association	ALLA	Special – law	Mainly individual, some institutional
Australian Library and Information Association	ALIA	All sectors	Individual and institutional
Australian Public Library Alliance [incorporates state-based public library associations]	APLA	Public	Institutional
Australian School Library Association	ASLA	Schools (except SA)	Individual and institutional
Council of Australian University Libraries	CAUL	University	Institutional
IAML Australia	IAML	Special – music	Individual and institutional
National and State Libraries Australia	NSLA	National, state and territory	Institutional
Public Libraries Australia	PLA	Public	Mainly individual, some institutional
School Library Association of South Australia	SLASA	Schools (SA only)	Individual and institutional
Special Libraries Association, Australia and New Zealand Chapter	SLA ANZ	Special – all sectors	Individual
Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries	VATL	TAFE (VIC only)	Individual and institutional

Scope, Issues and Assumptions

As noted above, the object of this research is to gather numeric census data on library sectors, and so establish a modern population baseline for Australian libraries. It does not address trends in libraries and librarianship in Australia, nor analyse why populations in various sectors have increased or decreased over time. Nor does it consider the fundamental shift towards electronic resources, and the impact this has had, and will continue to have, on the way that libraries are defined and described.

Because of the lack of centralised, uniform data sources, it is difficult to derive Australian library sector populations accurately and consistently. For this reason, no specific definition of libraries has been used when calculating libraries within their populations. Where possible, libraries have been counted in one population only. However, libraries often have the potential to belong to more than one sectoral population, depending on their parent organisation and subject specialisation. Sectors have therefore been assigned based on the overall nature of the parent organisation, rather than the subject specialisation of the individual library or service point. Populations have also been counted at the organisational level, rather than by individual library, branch or service point, to further minimise the potential for double counting between sectors.

Peak library associations are knowledgeable about their direct constituencies, but most do not record secondary member affiliations. For example, information on whether a specialist subject matter practitioner or library is part of a university, corporate organisation or government department is not always readily available. It is therefore highly likely that there are some overlaps, particularly between higher education and special library populations. Intra-sectoral overlaps also exist between different special library populations, for example art or music libraries within government-funded institutions, such as galleries and museums, or health/medical or law libraries within government departments. However, since populations are calculated at the organisation level, these overlaps are not generally considered significant for the purposes of this research.

Corroborating Data Sources

Several tools have been used to cross-check primary library population data. Although ALG was considered as a source of information on library sector populations, it is not generally a suitable population proxy for this research because of the currency issues discussed previously. However, ALG information has been used for confirmation purposes when appropriate. As with ALG, Libraries Australia Administration is also not generally a suitable proxy for total library populations, since it only contains information on member and ex-member organisations. However, it also provides additional corroborating information that has been used for checking purposes as required. Various government databases and directories have also been used to substantiate population data in the sectors for which they are relevant.

Australian Library Sector Populations

When reviewing library populations, it is first necessary to determine and define sectors. ALIA recognises six main library sectors in Australia:

• National, state and territory libraries, or collecting institutions (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018a);

• Public libraries (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018b);

• School libraries (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018c);

• Special libraries (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018d);

• University and research libraries (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018e), and;

• Vocational education and training libraries (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018f).

The following sections provide definitions for each library sector and discuss how population numbers have been derived. Table 2 shows an at-a-glance view of total library populations.

Table 2. Australian library sector populations at a glance.

Sector	Population
National, state and territory libraries	9
Public libraries	563
School libraries	9,414
Special libraries	869
University libraries	39
Vocational education and training libraries	106

National, State and Territory Libraries

Total Population: 9

National, state and territory libraries are those libraries with a ‘legislated role to collect and preserve cultural heritage and to make the intellectual and historical record…available’ for their respective jurisdictions (National and State Libraries Australia, n.d.a). National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) is the peak association for this sector, offering institutional memberships only. Members include the National Library of Australia, and the Australian state and territory libraries. The population of collecting institutions is stable at one per jurisdiction and does not change. There is an identified population of nine Australian libraries for this sector (National and State Libraries Australia, n.d.b).

Public Libraries

Total Population: 563

According to the Australian Public Libraries Statistical Report 2015–2016 published by NSLA, public libraries are libraries that provide ‘information, collections and services to meet the information needs of the general public including those of diverse user groups’. The Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) is one peak association for this sector, bringing together institutional representatives from all state-based public library associations, the ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmanian library services and ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018b). The other peak association for this sector is the Public Library Association (PLA), which offers both institutional and individual memberships (Public Libraries Australia, 2017).

APLA and PLA representatives refer to the NSLA-prepared Statistical Report for metrics on Australian public library activity and usage. As at December 2017, there are 1,656 individual public library service points in Australia, including branches, mobile library and other library outlets, such as kiosks (State Library of Queensland. Regional Access and Public Libraries, 2017). The Statistical Report notes that there is significant variation in the way public library services are funded and administered from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (State Library of Queensland. Regional Access and Public Libraries, 2017).

Rather than counting the public library population by service delivery point or by funding source, each local government area in each jurisdiction has been counted as one library service for this research. Where state or territory local governments operate shared or regional library services, these have been counted as multiple library services, one per local government area, as each local government contributes to the operation of that shared service. The Statistical Report does not provide local government area numbers for the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. This information has been gathered from the websites of the Northern Territory Government Department of Tourism and Culture (2017), Queensland Government. Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs (2018), Local Government Association Tasmania (2017) and Local Government Victoria (2017), respectively. The ACT Government functions as both territory and local government, and there is a single library service for the whole of the territory, which has been counted as one public library (Libraries ACT, 2017).

Based on the local government areas referenced in Table 3, the identified public library population is 563.

Table 3. Australian local government areas by jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction	Local Government Areas
ACT	1
NSW	152
NT	17
QLD	77
SA	68
TAS	29
VIC	79
WA	140
Total	563

School Libraries

Total Population: 9,414

The second edition of the IFLA School Library Guidelines defines a school library as ‘…a school’s physical and digital learning space where reading, inquiry, research, thinking, imagination, and creativity are central to students’ information-to-knowledge journey and to their personal, social, and cultural growth’ (IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee, 2015). In Australia, the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and School Library Association of South Australia (SLASA) are the peak associations for this sector, with each organisation offering both individual and institutional memberships (Australian School Library Association, 2015; School Library Association of South Australia, 2008).

ASLA and SLASA advise that all Australian primary and secondary schools should maintain a library, and that the population for this sector should be calculated based on the total numbers of schools, although association representatives both indicated that many school libraries may be either understaffed or unstaffed. Based on 4221.0 Schools, Australia 2016, produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017), there were a total of 9,414 government and non-government schools in Australia in 2016. The identified school library population is also 9,414.

Special Libraries

Total Population: 869

Special libraries are library and information services that serve government departments and agencies, non-government organisations, corporations, and other businesses and institutions. ALIA estimates that there may be as many as 2,000 Australia special libraries, not all of which are known as a ‘library’ (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018d).

The special library sector is the most complex population to determine, given the diversity of library subject specialisations, the number of different peak associations involved in this sector, and the overlaps between them. ALIA and the Special Library Association Australia and New Zealand Chapter (SLA ANZ) offer membership to all special libraries and librarians, with ALIA offering both individual and institutional memberships, and SLA ANZ offering individual memberships only. ALIA advise that for 2016–17 there are 131 special library institutional members of ALIA (J. Brooker, personal communication, 18 January 2017), and SLA ANZ has approximately 40 individual members (J. Gray, personal communication, 12 February 2018) as at February 2018. These are significantly lower numbers than advised by the sectoral peak associations below, so both figures have been disregarded for the purposes of this research.

Each library specialisation is considered individually below, but Table 4 provides an at-a-glance view.

Table 4. Australian special library populations.

Library Specialisation	Number
Art	19
Corporate and Organisations	77
Government Departments (Federal/State)	172
Health/Medical	328
Law	121
Music	25
Parliamentary	9
Theological	118
Total	869

Art Libraries

Population: 19

Art libraries are ‘…concerned with all formats of textual and visual documentation for the visual arts, including fine arts, applied arts, design and architecture’ (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2017b). The Arts Library Society Australia and New Zealand (Arlis/ANZ) is the peak association for art libraries and collections in Australia and New Zealand (Arts Libraries Society Australia & New Zealand, 2018), with both individual and institutional memberships.

Based on membership data provided by Arlis/ANZ (E. Little, personal communication, 9 March 2017), there are 64 known art libraries or libraries with significant art-related collections in Australia. This includes 34 university libraries, five national, state and territory libraries, four public libraries and two government department libraries that have been counted in other populations, and which are excluded from the art library population. Twelve government-funded galleries, museums, or cultural institution libraries are included in this population, with a total identified population of 19.

Corporate and Organisation Libraries

Population: 77

A corporate library is defined as ‘a library…tailored to meet the needs of the parent organisation’ (State Library of New South Wales, 2014). For this project, corporate and organisation libraries incorporate both libraries in for-profit bodies, as well as libraries in other organisations that do not fit the profile of other special library subject specialisations. It is very difficult to obtain population figures for corporate and oganisation special libraries, as most are located within corporations, private and small organisations, with limited visibility beyond their parent organisation. There is no known peak association for these special libraries as a group, though some are aligned with other special library peak associations covering their specific subject matters.

In the absence of centralised statistics, corporate and organisation library numbers have been calculated based on Libraries Australia membership as recorded in Libraries Australia Administration. This lists 223 libraries, including 146 libraries that are already counted in other library populations (art, government, law, medical, music, public and theological libraries). An additional 201 closed or inactive corporate and organisation libraries are also recorded in Libraries Australia Administration (Libraries Australia, 2017). These figures have been cross-checked against ALG, which records 390 corporate/business libraries, both open and closed, across multiple specialisations (National Library of Australia, 2017). In this instance, the Libraries Australia Administration data are preferred, due to the separation of open and closed libraries, which is not readily apparent from ALG.

Excluding libraries already counted in other populations, there are 77 known corporate libraries, across 73 organisations, with each organisation being counted as a single library service for this research. The identified population for this sector is therefore 73. This is almost certainly an underreporting of the true population, which cannot be calculated in the absence of a full sectoral census.

Government Libraries

Population: 172

Government libraries are those ‘…which are part of and work for a body with a governing task and which have, in any way, a political responsibility or connection’ (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2017a). The Australian Government Libraries Information Network (AGLIN) is the peak association for government libraries in Australia (Australian Government Libraries Information Network, n.d.a), with institutional membership open to libraries from federal, state and territory government agencies. No individual memberships are offered.

The AGLIN website lists 44 members for the financial year 2016–2017. Thirty-eight of these are federal government agency libraries, with each organisation being counted as a single library service (Australian Government Libraries Information Network, n.d.b). This includes three art libraries, the National Library and one parliamentary library, which have already been counted in other populations, and which are therefore excluded from the government library population. Federal government law and health/medical libraries included in the health/medical and law library populations are not currently AGLIN members, and are also excluded from this population. There are 33 federal government libraries identified in this population.

While eligible for membership of AGLIN, just five state and territory government libraries are currently listed as members, with several of these falling into other specialisations. There are no other known state-based government peak library associations. When based on Libraries Australia membership, as recorded in Libraries Australia Administration, there are 98 state and territory government libraries, excluding four art libraries, four law libraries and four health/medical libraries which have been counted in other populations (Libraries Australia, 2017).

These figures have been cross-checked against ALG, which records 565 government libraries (National Library of Australia, 2017), with 339 of these being state or territory government agency libraries. Excluding art, law, medical, parliamentary, public, state and territory, and vocational education and training libraries, which have been counted in other populations, there are 203 known state and territory government departmental libraries, across 139 organisations, with each organisation being counted as a single library service.

Given the almost 30% disparity between Libraries Australia Administration and ALG figures, the state and territory government library population has also been cross-checked against the various state and territory government directories. These identify 128 main portfolio departments across all jurisdictions, with many more government agencies, boards, committees, etc. (Australia.gov.au, 2018). The number of these agencies with libraries cannot be determined from the government directories, but if it is assumed that all 128 portfolio departments maintain some form of library service, this is a variation of 8% against the ALG data and 24% for Libraries Australia Administration.

There is a well-known trend towards government library closures in some cases (Australian Library and Information Association, 2013), and moves to the use of shared services in yet more agencies (Atkinson & Lewin, 2012). It is not clear how many state and territory statutory authorities and agencies maintain library services independent of their parent portfolio departments, so data obtained from the government directories are far from authoritative. However, given the closer agreement between ALG and government directory data, the ALG population figures are preferred to Libraries Australia Administration in this instance, with an identified population of 139 state and territory government library services. It is probable that the figures gathered from ALG are an underreporting of the true population of state and territory government libraries, but the extent cannot be determined in the absence of a full sectoral census.

With 33 federal government libraries and 139 state and territory government libraries, the total identified government library population is 172.

Health and Medical Libraries

Population: 328

Health and medical libraries incorporate ‘hospitals and other clinical facilities, research institutes, regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government departments, regional health services, professional colleges, universities, cooperative research centres, not-for-profit and community organisations, and parts of public library services’, which contribute to evidence-based health care. Health Libraries Australia (HLA) is an ALIA Group representing health and medical libraries and librarians, offering both individual and institutional memberships (Australian Library and Information Association, 2017a).

In 2014–2015, HLA conducted a sectoral census, The Census of Australian Health Libraries and Health Librarians Working Outside the Traditional Library Setting. Based on the census results, there are 328 separate Australian organisations identified as providing health/medical library services (Kammermann, 2016). While the census does record the primary sector of health/medical libraries based on each individual’s survey responses, this information has not been correlated to the organisations providing those services. As such, it is not possible to separate health/medical collections within university libraries from other health/medical libraries, and some overlaps in the populations for these sectors are likely. The total identified population is 328 for this sector.

Law Libraries

Population: 121

Law libraries occur in ‘law firms, universities, courts, parliaments, government departments and agencies, legal departments of corporations, non-government and associations, and within public libraries’, providing services to ‘inform the work of the legislature, judiciary and legal profession, and to provide legal and government information to the general public’ (Brown, 2015). The Australian Law Librarians’ Association (ALLA) is the peak association for Australian law libraries (Australian Law Librarians’ Association, 2018), offering both individual and institutional memberships.

Based on the 2015 National Survey of Australian Law Libraries–Final Report, there are 263 known law libraries in 194 organisations (Brown, 2015), with each organisation being counted as a single library service. This includes 36 university libraries, seven national, state and territory libraries, nine parliamentary libraries, and 18 government department libraries, which have already been counted in other populations, and which are therefore excluded from the law library population. Thirty-one government-funded court, tribunal, commission and legal practice (i.e. legal aid, public prosecutors, etc.) libraries are included within this population, and not the government library population. The total identified law library population is 121.

Music Libraries

Population: 25

Music libraries are ‘libraries, archives and documentation centres concerned with music and music materials’. IAML Australia is a chapter of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres, and is the peak association for Australian music libraries and collections (IAML Australia, n.d.), offering both individual and institutional memberships. Based on information provided by IAML Australia, there are 45 known music libraries in Australia (A. Shelmerdine, personal communication, 27 February 2017). This includes 14 university libraries, five national, state and territory libraries and one public library, which have already been counted in other library populations, and are therefore excluded from the music library population. The identified population for this sector is 25.

Parliamentary Libraries

Population: 9

Parliamentary libraries provide ‘…research and information services to members of Parliament, their staff, and the staff of parliaments’ (Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia, 2014b). The Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia (APLA) is the peak association for parliamentary libraries in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia, 2014a), offering institutional memberships only. There are 11 Australasian parliamentary libraries that are members of APLA. The population of parliamentary libraries is stable at one per jurisdiction and does not change. Excluding non-Australian jurisdictions, there are nine identified Australian parliamentary libraries (Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia, 2015).

Theological Libraries

Population: 118

Theological libraries seek to ‘foster the study of theology and religion’. The Australian and New Zealand Theological Libraries Association (ANZTLA) represents theological libraries in Australia (Australian and New Zealand Theological Library Association, 2016), offering both individual and institutional memberships. ANZTLA provided information on the organisations in which their members are employed (S. Morton, personal communication, 9 January 2017), and this information was cross-checked against Libraries Australia membership, as recorded in Libraries Australia Administration (Libraries Australia, 2017).

There are 118 identified theological libraries for this population, but this figure does not a represent comprehensive count of all theological libraries in Australia, only those known to ANZTLA and Libraries Australia. Secondary information on the parent institution is not available, so a small number of overlaps with other library sector populations are likely.

University and Research Libraries

Total Population: 39

University and research libraries provide information services to ‘[improve] access by the staff and students of Australian universities to the information resources that are fundamental to the advancement of teaching, learning and research’ (Council of Australian University Librarians, 2009). The Council of Australian University Libraries (CAUL) is the peak association for Australian university libraries (Council of Australian University Librarians, 2017), offering institutional memberships only. There are 39 universities in Australia (Council of Australia University Librarians, 2010). All campus and branch libraries and special collections within a university have been counted as a single library service, with an identified university library population of 39.

Vocational Education and Training Libraries

Total Population: 106

Similar to university libraries, vocational education and training (VET) libraries ‘provide essential support for educators and students’ within their institution (Australian Library and Information Association, 2016). ALIA acts as the national peak association for VET libraries, with both institutional and individual memberships (Australian Library and Information Association, 2018f). The Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries (VATL) provides additional coverage in this sector, offering institutional memberships only (Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries, 2017).

TAFE Libraries

Population: 51

For this project, TAFE libraries are defined as those libraries contained within the government-operated VET institutes (George, 2015). ALIA has mapped Australian TAFE libraries, recording 252 libraries within 51 institutes of TAFE across Australia (Australian Library and Information Association, 2017c). The information recorded by ALIA for Victorian TAFE libraries broadly agrees with the member listing for VATL, which lists 16 TAFE institutes in Victoria (Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries, 2017). For the purposes of this research, TAFE Divisions of universities are included in the TAFE library population, rather than counted as part of the university population. All libraries associated with an institute are counted as a single library service. As such, the identified TAFE library population is 51.

Other Vocational Education and Training Libraries

Population: 55

For the purposes of this research, other VET libraries are defined as those libraries within higher education and registered training organisations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, that are not universities or government-funded TAFE institutes. As with corporate libraries, it has been difficult to obtain accurate population figures for VET libraries, as there is no peak association for these educational libraries as a group, though vocational education providers and registered training organisations do tend to be more visible than their corporate counterparts.

Some VET libraries are also associated with other special library peak associations covering their specific subject matters, particularly theological libraries. For the purposes of this research, organisations that offer both religious studies and allied training, such as counselling, psychology or teaching, are included in the VET group. Organisations that focus solely on religious qualifications are associated with theological library population. An overlap also exists with senior secondary schools that offer school-based vocational education to their students, and these libraries are counted in the school sector.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 requires all VET institutions to provide students with library services that are ‘appropriate to their course of study’ (Australian Library and Information Association, 2016). Australian governments maintain an authoritative register of all Australian registered training organisations on the training.gov.au website, with 4,519 organisations currently registered (training.gov.au, 2018). As well as VET training, the register also incorporates other types of training, such as driver training schools, first aid, and industry certifications such as forklift driving, which are unlikely to provide library services within their businesses. The register does not record information that allows organisations with libraries to be filtered from those that do not, so these figures have been disregarded for the purposes of this project.

As there are no centralised statistics for this library population, VET library numbers have initially been calculated on Libraries Australia membership, as recorded in Libraries Australia Administration (Libraries Australia, 2017). This lists 68 libraries, including 33 libraries that are already counted in other library populations (art, government, law, medical, music, theological, and university libraries). An additional 20 closed or inactive VET libraries are also recorded in Libraries Australia Administration, which are not counted as part of the population for this research.

These figures have been cross-checked against ALG. VET libraries are categorised in a combined TAFE/College group, with 388 libraries both open and closed. When TAFE, school, theological and other sectoral libraries are removed, ALG lists 73 VET libraries in 55 organisations (National Library of Australia, 2017). This is a variation of 40% when compared against active Libraries Australia members. Ten VET libraries with cancelled Libraries Australia memberships also appear in the ALG list of vocational libraries, reducing the difference to approximately 22%.

The number of VET libraries included in Libraries Australia Administration and ALG are both almost certainly an underreporting of the true population, which cannot be calculated in the absence of a full sectoral census. Given this, and the variance between population numbers recorded in each system, the ALG data are preferred in this instance, despite the known issues with data currency. Excluding libraries already counted in other populations, there are 73 known VET libraries, across 55 organisations. With each organisation being counted as a single library service, the identified population for this sector is 55.

Conclusion

Understanding Australia’s sectoral library populations is a matter that is no doubt of interest to many. Indeed, as G. H. Borchardt noted in his Report of the First Census of Australian Library Services, there is ‘a constant need for relevant factual data on library resources…’ (Borchardt, 1982). However, conducting a census in any form is a difficult and daunting affair, as earlier library census undertakings, and the so-called 2016 #censusfail by the Australian Bureau of Statistics would attest (Hanrahan, 2017).

This project is an attempt to fill the gap, in the absence of a complete Australian library census undertaking. Library sector populations (shown in Table 5) are calculated as accurately as the collected data will allow, while minimising the potential for overlaps and double-counting to the greatest extent possible. While confidence in the accuracy of the data in some sectors is questionable due to the incompleteness of the source data, the assembled information paints a picture that is indicative of the extent of Australian library populations in early 2018.

Table 5. Australian library sector populations.

Sector	Population	Data source	Data confidence
National, state and territory libraries	9	NSLA	High
Public libraries	563	APLA, Libraries ACT, LGA Tas, LG Vic, NT Govt, NSLA, PLA, Qld LGRMA	Medium
School libraries	9,414	ABS, ASLA, SLASA	Medium
Special libraries	869	(as below), ALIA, SLA ANZ	Medium
Art libraries	19	Arlis/ANZ	Medium
Corporate and organisations	77	ALG, La Admin	Low
Government departments	172	AGLIN, ALG, Australia.gov.au, La Admin,	Low
Health/Medical	328	HLA	Medium
Law	121	ALLA	High
Music	25	IAML	Medium
Parliamentary	9	APLA	High
Theological	118	ANZTLA, La Admin	Medium
University libraries	39	CAUL	High
Vocational education and training libraries	106	(as below)	Medium
TAFE	51	ALIA, VATL	High
Other VET	55	ALG, La Admin, training.gov.au	Low

Australia’s library environment is dynamic, and as the ALIA Future of the Profession reports note, ‘change is a constant’ (Australian Library and Information Association, 2017b). Population numbers will change, and change again. This research forms a baseline for future direct research into Australian library populations, whether examined by sector or as a whole, along with research for which an understanding of the nature of Australia’s library sectors is a foundation. This research does not attempt to analyse Australian library population trends over time, nor assess the impact of electronic resources on the ways in which libraries are defined and counted within their populations. Both of these are complex matters in their own right, and worthy of study by future scholars.

There is no doubt that potential future census undertakings will need broad industry participation and support to succeed. Despite this, the industry does already have a tool that can assist. As noted above, the Australian Libraries Gateway is perhaps the closest thing that the Australian library and information industry currently has to a one-stop directory, though there are unquestionable limitations in data currency at the present time. Since ALG entries are self-managed, I challenge readers to consider: when was your library’s ALG entry last edited? Perhaps now is a good time to review and update, and enable future population researchers to more readily access the data they need.

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Monika Szunejko, Director, Libraries Australia, and the office bearers and staff of the following organisations:

• ALIA Health Libraries Australia

• Arts Libraries Society/Australia and New Zealand

• Association of Parliamentary Libraries of Australasia

• Australian and New Zealand Theological Libraries Association

• Australian Government Libraries Information Network

• Australian Law Librarians’ Association

• Australian Library and Information Association

• Australian Public Library Alliance

• Australian School Library Association

• Council of Australian University Libraries

• IAML Australia

• National and State Libraries Australasia

• Public Libraries Australia

• School Library Association of South Australia

• Special Libraries Association, Australia and New Zealand Chapter

• Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amanda Magnussen

Amanda Magnussen is Assistant Director of Data Sharing Strategy at Libraries Australia within the National Library of Australia. A past president of the Australian Law Librarians’ Association (ACT), Book Review Coordinator of the Australian Law Librarian, and a VALA Travel Scholar in 2000, Amanda worked in government special libraries from 1990 to 2015 before joining the National Library of Australia in 2016 in senior management roles.