Statistics are basic to the legislative process and must be available in a form quickly and easily perceived to support library legislation. There should be a sound statistical base, fleshed out with practical examples, to impress legislators and lay persons. Communication of statistical data to decision makers requires a sound public information…

The development and use of library statistics in the Soviet Union and systems of reporting are discussed in this speech by E.A. Fenelonov, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, and are compared with statistical development in the United States by Vernon E. Palmour of King Research, Inc. Fenelonov emphasizes the use…

To identify the essential core of statistical data needed to plan improvements in library and information services in the United States, one must examine some recent trends in public administration methods and their potential applicability to the library field. Public administrators increasingly regard planning as a cycle: perception of needs,…

The principal uses of statistics in library planning may be illustrated by examples from the state of Illinois. State law specifies that the Illinois State Library compile and publish statistics on libraries. State agencies also play an important and expanding role in this effort. The state library now compiles statistics on all types of…