Public Library Survey Walkthrough - Week Four
Welcome to Week 4 of the Public Library Survey - Show Me the Money!
Public Library Survey DUE DATE: April 30, 2026
Earworm Song of the Day: "High Hopes" by Frank Sinatra
Hello everyone! Before we move on to the finance sections, folks have asked how to go about getting their Interlibrary Loan numbers for the “Physical Circulation” part of the survey. In answer to that, I direct you to the following blog posts that David Harris put together to help you with that step (Thank you, David!):
• ILL Stats https://nhais.blogspot.com/2026/02/finding-your-ill-stats.html (posted 02/10/2026)
• Old vs. new ILL statistics reports https://nhais.blogspot.com/2025/02/old-vs-new-ill-statistics-reports.html (posted 02/24/2025)
Today we’ll be working on Revenue and Expenditures, sections 7 through 11:
Let’s start by talking about the difference between Operating and Capital funds.
-Your Operating budget includes the funds to be used for all regular and ongoing costs of operating the library such as the purchase of materials in all formats for the library collections, supplies needed to complete library work, building cleaning, and staff wages. These dollars can come from a variety of sources including local, state, and federal funds, gifts, grants, fees, and library fines.
-Your Capital budget includes the funds budgeted for one-time major expenses like new buildings, building renovations, library automation systems, computer hardware, or other one-time major projects.
Note: Some librarians are concerned about their answers in this section because they think that their revenue should be equal to their expenditures each year, but for most libraries, that is highly unlikely to be the case. For the purposes of the survey, always report revenue and expenditures in the year that they actually occur. If you had a capital expenditure that was made by your town on behalf of the library, you will report that amount under expenditures, but not under revenues since the money was never in the library budget.
As in other sections, the totals for each category are grayed out and will change as you enter your local numbers.
Section 7.0 – Revenue
In this section, you will report regular operating funds that were budgeted in library accounts for the year, regardless of the amount spent. This section is broken down by the source of the funds.
-Local Government Revenue – The total dollar amount appropriated by your city or town into the library accounts for the year in question.
-State Government Revenue – The total dollar amount received by your library directly from the state of NH into the library accounts for the year in question. Only enter amounts that were funds originating at the state level, e.g., a Moose Plate Grant.
-Federal Government Revenue – The total dollar amount of federal funds received by your library for the year in question. Include any federal dollars that were distributed to your library directly or by the state.
-Other Operating Revenue – The total dollar amount of all gifts, donations, grants, library fines, fees for services, and interest accrued in library accounts. Include the dollar amount of any donation made by the library Trustees, Friends group, or other donor, as long as the funds were placed into the library accounts. Do not include funds held by library trustees or Friends groups in their own accounts, or the value of any non-monetary gifts received from them or from any other source.
-TOTAL Operating Revenue - this line is grayed out and auto-calculated from the entries above.
-What was Your Town/City's TOTAL Municipal Appropriations Budget? – The total dollar amount appropriated for your city or town for the year in question. Include only the amount for the town. Do not include the school budget in that total.
-Has the library petitioned the town for money through a warrant article? – If you answer “Yes” to this question, a few more questions will appear for you to enter details about the warrant article.
Section 8.0 – Capital
In this section, you will report the capital funding to, and expenditures from, the library accounts for the year. You will also report any capital expenditures that were from accounts not held by the library. Those might include the cost of major building renovations paid for directly by the town. If your town made a capital expenditure on behalf of the library, you may include it in the expenditures section, but not in revenue.
-Local Government Capital Revenue – The total dollar amount appropriated by your city or town into the library accounts for the purpose of major capital expenditures. Report all funds received for the year, even if they were not expended in the same year.
-State Government Capital Revenue – The total dollar amount of state funds received in the library accounts for the purpose of major capital expenditures. Report all funds received for the year, even if they were not expended in the same year.
-Federal Government Capital Revenue – The total dollar amount of federal funds received in the library accounts for the purpose of major capital expenditures. Report all funds received for the year, even if they were not expended in the same year.
-Other Capital Revenue – The total dollar amount received in the library accounts from private, nongovernmental sources for the purpose of major capital expenditures. Include all monetary gifts and grant funds received in support of plans for capital improvements. Report all funds received for the year, even if they were not expended in the same year.
-TOTAL Capital Revenue - this line is grayed out and auto-calculated from the entries above.
-Total Capital Expenditures – The total dollar amount expended for the year in question on all capital projects for the library regardless of what accounts were used. Report all funds spent for the year regardless of which year the funds were received by the library. If the town paid for a capital expense on behalf of your library, click on the notepad and enter a note explaining what was purchased. Examples of library capital expenditures include those made for:
• Site acquisitions
• New buildings
• Additions to, or renovations of, existing library buildings
• Library automation systems
• Other one-time, major projects
9.0 – Staff Expenditures
In this section, you will report the personnel costs which are part of the operating costs of the library.
-Salaries & Wages Expenditures – The total amount of salaries and wages before any deductions for all library staff for the year, including security and maintenance staff. If you share a staff member with other town departments, please estimate the library’s share of that person’s salary based on the library’s share of that person’s hours.
-Employee Benefits Expenditures – The total amount spent for employee benefits for all positions reported above regardless of whether the same benefits are available to all staff. As was true in the salaries item, if you share a staff member with other town departments, please estimate the library’s share of that person’s benefits based on the library’s share of that person’s hours. Include amounts for:
• Social Security
• Retirement
• Medical and Dental Insurance
• Disability
• Life Insurance
-TOTAL Staff Expenditures - this line is grayed out and auto-calculated from the entries above.
10.0 – Collection Expenditures
In this section, you will report the cost of all new acquisitions purchased for the library’s collection that were paid for from library accounts and which are all part of your operating costs.
-Print Materials Expenditures – The total dollar amount spent from the library budget on books, current magazine and newspaper subscriptions, government documents, and any other print publications.
-Electronic Materials Expenditures –– The total dollar amount spent from the library budget on any materials that require a computer or other device to provide access. This is where your cost for Kanopy, Hoopla, Ancestry, Flipster, NAXOS and other online resources with go. These may include:
• eBooks
• Downloadable, or Streaming Audio
• Downloadable, or Streaming Video
• Digital Magazine Subscriptions
• Online Databases
-Other Physical Materials Expenditures – The total dollar amount spent from the library budget on physical materials you have added to the collection that are not print items, including DVDs, Audiobooks, video games, and items such as tools or games from your “library of things”.
-TOTAL Collection Expenditures - this line is grayed out and auto-calculated from the entries above.
11.0 – Operating Expenditures
Most of the operating costs have already been entered in the above sections. Here, you will report the cost of all other operating expenditures paid for from the library budget for the year.
-Other Operating Expenditures – The total dollar amount spent from the library budget on all operating costs not already reported above. These may include the cost of:
• Supplies
• Repairs to existing furniture and equipment
• Computer hardware and software
• Internet and Wi-Fi Access
• Public utility costs
• Fees paid for services such as a consultant or attorney
-TOTAL Operating Expenditures - this line is grayed out and is the sum of Total Staff Expenditures, Total Collection Expenditures, and Other Operating Expenditures.
If you don’t have revenue or expenditures in some of these categories, please respond by entering zero. Only use “Unavailable” in the unlikely event that the revenue or expenditures amounts are not known to you. In that case, please click on the notepad icon to explain.
As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at 603-271-2060 or jennifer.m.finch@dncr.nh.gov. I’ll be back next week to finish up this tour!
- Jen
Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library
N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources
20 Park St.
Concord, NH 03301
Office: 603-271-2060
Ref Desk: 603-271-2144
Jennifer.M.Finch@dncr.nh.gov
