2025 ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey – ACRL Insider

The deadline for the 2025 ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey has been extended to March 31, 2026.

The ACRL survey provides a comprehensive portrait of the impact that academic libraries have across the United States. The survey collects data on the following topics: staffing, materials and operations expenses, library collections, library services, and local and library characteristics. Also included is a short trends questionnaire developed by the Academic Library Trends and Statistics Editorial Board. The 2025 trends section focuses on Artificial Intelligence in libraries.

The data you submit facilitates effective benchmarking, assessment of impact over time, tracking new trends, and demonstration of the value of academic libraries.

2025 Submission Details

Survey Open: October 2025 – March 31, 2026
Submission website: https://librarybenchmark.org/

Reporting Period: Fiscal Year 2025, which is defined as the most recent 12-month period that ends before October 1, 2025, corresponding to your institution’s fiscal year.

Username: 6-digit IPEDS ID (Click here to locate your institution’s IPEDS number.)

For more information on the 2025 survey, including the instructions and worksheet, please visit the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics LibGuide.

New this Year

While we encourage all institutions to complete as much of the survey as they can to provide the clearest picture of the state of academic libraries in the US, we understand that not all institutions have the time or resources to do so. For your survey to be considered complete, you will only need to respond to the questions marked with an asterisk on the survey. These questions align with the IPEDS Academic Library Component.

IPEDS Academic Library Component

2024-25 was the last reporting year for the IPEDS ALC (for FY 2024 data). As academic libraries will no longer have that comprehensive, national data, we do believe it is more important than ever for libraries to report to the ACRL Trends & Statistics Survey. The questions included in the IPEDS ALC have been part of the ACRL survey since 2015 and will continue to be included on the ACRL survey moving forward. We are doing our best to ensure ACRL can continue to provide high-quality data to support library peer comparisons and assessment and hope your library will participate in the survey this year.

Access to the Results

Every participating library receives complimentary access to online dashboards showing survey results by national average as soon as they are available.  A subscription to ACRL Benchmark offers additional functionality, including access to past data and the ability to compare specific institutions.

Please contact ACRL survey support at acrlbenchmark@ala.org with any questions about the survey or to correct contact information for your institution.