Statistical presentation

Contact info

Research, technology and culture, Business statistics
Trine Jensen
+45 2013 8817

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The statistics are an annual statement of the public and research libraries' activities, including lending, holdings, departures and increases in materials, as well as individual key financial figures. The statistics are compiled for all public and research libraries in Denmark and are divided according to activity and physical and electronic material type, etc. In the statistics, research libraries are divided into research libraries with special obligations and other research libraries.

Data description

The library statistic show the activity of public libraries in Denmark. The main information is stock, growth, lending, renewal of loans and interlibrary loans. The statistic shows stock of books calculated on internationally comparable categories of material types. The statistic shows loan of books at internationally comparable categories of material types. The statistics also show key figures for the libraries' finances, e.g. material costs. Data is published at municipal level for public library statistics and for individual research libraries. It is the Ministry of Culture who categorizes the research libraries and sends the population to Statistics Denmark.

Classification system

Material type covers the different types of material that can be borrowed from the library, e.g. books. Activity is a collective term for various activities in libraries, e.g. exhibitions and events.

The Statbank table LABY42 is based on the table BIB8 which shows full time employees at public libraries. The population is subtracted from the table FOLK1A. The municipality groups of the LABY table can be found from the following path.

Sector coverage

Culture

Statistical concepts and definitions

Arrangement på biblioteket: En enkeltstående begivenhed organiseret af et bibliotek, typisk med et litterært, kulturelt eller uddannelsesmæssigt formål, uanset om adgangen er gratis eller der opkræves entré. Arrangementer omfatter ikke brugerundervisning.

Udstilling på biblioteket: En særlig præsentation af malerier, fotografier eller materialer mv. over en vis periode, arrangeret at et bibliotek, uanset om adgangen er gratis eller der opkræves entré.

Statistical unit

Public and research libraries in Denmark

Statistical population

Public and research libraries in Denmark.

Reference area

Denmark.

Time coverage

For information on the research libraries' stock and use of electronic resources, comparable information is available from 2014. For all other information, data from 2009. Individual-based library statistics are from the year 2020.

Base period

Not relevant for these statistics.

Unit of measure

Units of measurement are number of books or other physical material, number of loans and renewals and number of visits. For e-resources, the unit of measurement is number of views and number of searches. The financial information is calculated in Danish kroner.

Reference period

The statistics are calculated once a year for the calendar year.

Individual-based library statistics are calculated quarterly, four times a year.

Frequency of dissemination

Publication takes place once a year.