Statistics

The data below is taken from the integrated library system software used by all public libraries in Saskatchewan.  These numbers highlight the growing patron base and widespread use of the public library system in Saskatchewan, the continued growth of both physical and electronic collections, and a degree of cooperation between public library systems that remains unprecedented in Canada. 

Please note that not all statistics are comparable across all years due to changes in software systems in 2009-10, 2013 and 2015.  Differences in each system’s data gathering and reporting methods will have affected overall numbers.  The current system provides accurate and specific data which the consortium has been using to inform decision making since September 2015.

2016 Highlights
Circulation of physical materials: 7,504,664
Holds Placed: 1,489,692
Holds filled through SILS: 748,012
Unique borrowers (individual customers) of physical materials: 220, 379
Titles (all physical and electronic, including Library2Go and 3M): 1,575,926
Physical Items: ​3,691,975
E-Items: 580,136

Cardholders
The chart below indicates the total number of Saskatchewan residents with library cards and the number of active patrons who have used their public library card at least once in the past two years. The data for active patrons is based on customers whose records show one of the following activities: check out, renewal, check-in, billing, payment, placing a hold, a new registration, or a login authentication to access an electronic resource. 

Context: Prior to SILS forming in 2010, each library system used their own separate software, so many Saskatchewan residents had multiple library cards as a result.  The launch of SILS meant that a library card could be used at any public library in the province (‘One Province, One Library Card'!).  Because residents are no longer required to carry library cards for multiple library systems, the total number of cardholders in recent years more accurately reflects the number of residents registered at a public library in Saskatchewan.
​
​Other factors that may have affected registered borrower counts include changes to the definition of a registered borrower, concerted attempts to remove duplicate borrowers from the database, and a change in policy in 2013 which made library cards transferable.  This policy change may have resulted in libraries issuing fewer cards as families are now able to share a single card.  All factors have remained consistent since September 2015, at which point the library system software changed and more accurate counts became available.

-	Total	Active
Dec 31, 2014	366,152	-
Dec 31, 2015	335,143	246,114
Dec 31, 2016	336,261	254,199
May 17, 2017	​336,453	257,010

​Data available: 2009-present; historical data available from government publications: 2009; 2010-2014;

Collection Size by Title
The chart below provides the number of unique titles in SILS, as well as the number of new titles added per year. E-titles refer to e-books and e-audio books, and 'print' titles refer to physical books and media.

-	All Titles	All Physical Titles	All E-Titles	Newly Added Physical Titles	Newly Added E-Titles
2016	1,575,926	995,790	580,136	64,630	228,316
2017	-	-	-	-	-

Data available: 2016-present

Collection Size by Physical Item
The chart below provides the number of physical items in SILS that are available for patrons to borrow, broken down by item type.  E-items such as e-books and e-audiobooks are not included.

-	All Items	Books	Video	Sound Recording	Spoken Word	Serials	Other
2016	3,691,975	3,146,367	202,366	71,417	50,071	125,242	97,787
2017	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Data available: 2016-present

Circulation - Physical Materials
The chart below provides total annual circulation of physical materials (electronic materials are not included) by library system for the last full year.  Included are the number of unique borrowers, total circulation (checkouts and renewals combined), and total holds placed.

2016	Unique Borrowers	Total Circulation	Total Holds Placed
​Chinook Regional Library	6680	249,923	67,936
Lakeland Library Region	8996	357,661	74,231
Pahkisimon Nuyeah Library System	4874	113,443	8063
Palliser Regional Library	9260	369,996	61,343
Parkland Regional Library	8016	296,853	88,237
Regina Public Library	56,044	2,008,957	310,565
Saskatoon Public Library	86,526	2,537,991	443,355
Southeast Regional Library	11,905	407,955	122,116
Wapiti Regional Library	15,678	634,292	149,555
Wheatland Regional Library	12,339	526,145	163,997
Total	220,379	7,504,664	1,489,692

Branch level report for 2016

Circulation - eBooks and eAudiobooks
The chart below provides the number of eBooks and eAudiobooks from the Library2Go collection that were used by Saskatchewan residents in the last full year.

Context: In recent years, other eBook and eAudiobook services have become available and are now offered by some library systems.  As patrons have more service choices, circulation numbers for this province-wide service may have been affected.

Value	2014	2015	2016
​Chinook Regional Library	35,083	36,133	36,058
Lakeland Library Region	48,975	51,584	49,800
Pahkisimon Nuyeah Library System	1792	1804	2200
Palliser Regional Library	45,597	44,291	42,604
Parkland Regional Library	32,434	34,734	35,509
Regina Public Library	122,689	126,420	122,295
Saskatoon Public Library	161,508	167,816	173,138
Southeast Regional Library	52,135	56,397	57,720
Wapiti Regional Library	56,546	57,925	59,709
Wheatland Regional Library	77,893	87,513	89,936
Total SILS	634,655	664,668	668,998

Data available: 2014-present

Interagency Holds
The chart below provides the number of physical items that were shipped between SILS agencies to fill hold requests.  ILL (interlibrary loan) items are excluded.

Context: In 2016, 81% of the material shipped filled a hold request for titles that were not owned by the patron's local library system.  14% of the material shipped filled a hold request for titles that were owned by the local library system, but were out on loan.  5% of the material shipped filled a hold request for titles that were owned by the local library system, but were unavailable for other reasons.

2016	Loaned to another library system	Borrowed from another library system
​Chinook Regional Library	31,446	45,440
Lakeland Library Region	69,740	44,390
Pahkisimon Nuyeah Library System	26,706	4499
Palliser Regional Library	94,218	31,092
Parkland Regional Library	42,705	53,856
Regina Public Library	102,756	166,936
Saskatoon Public Library	138,528	192,483
Southeast Regional Library	76,150	62,866
Wapiti Regional Library	102,813	63,050
Wheatland Regional Library	59,114	83,388
Total SILS	748,012	748,012

Data available: 2016-present

Reciprocal Borrowing
The chart below shows the number of patrons who used their library cards in person at a library branch outside the library system that issued their card.

2016	Unique Borrowers	Items Checked Out	Hold Pickups
Chinook Regional Library	279	3454	498
Lakeland Library Region	771	11,925	1050
Pahkisimon Nuyeah Library System	354	1165	106
Palliser Regional Library	769	11,696	2079
Parkland Regional Library	438	5158	1283
Regina Public Library	2682	78,670	10,568
Saskatoon Public Library	5398	151,606	20,537
Southeast Regional Library	706	9394	1381
Wapiti Regional Library	1056	16,304	1542
Wheatland Regional Library	596	9252	6537

Data available: 2016 to present

Contact your library system for additional local data.