Statistics 2020

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.

Usage in 2020 was greatly affected by the Covid19 pandemic. Library branches closed in late March and began re-opening and offering varying levels of service throughout the summer. The closures resulted in a large reduction in use of physical collections, while use of digital services increased substantially. 

Highlights

Circulation of Physical Materials
3,805,484
Holds Placed
1,413,585
Holds Filled Through SILS
480,470
Unique Borrowers of Physical MaterialsIndividual Customers
103,696
Physical Titles
1,012,887
Physical Items
3,633,734
E-Titles
388,149

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.
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​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.

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

- Total Active
Dec. 31, 2015 335,143 246,114
Dec. 31, 2016 336,261 254,199
Dec. 31, 2017 340,806 258,708
Dec. 31, 2018 345,880 262,202
Dec. 31, 2019 362,433 267,581
Dec. 31, 2020 383,350 244,991

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 ebooks and e-audio books, and 'physical' 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 1,618,474 1,002,565 615,909 144,494 148,081
2018 1,677,254 1,004,414 672,840 78,997 96,240
2019 1,383,766 1,027,316 356,450 68,630 16,032
2020 1,401,036 1,012,887 388,149 49,462 123,954

Collection Size by Physical Item

The chart below provides the number of physical items in SILS that are available for patrons to use, broken down by material type.  Electronic items, such as ebooks 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 3,657,466 3,107,541 209,054 69,617 50,570 122,443 99,472
2018 3,684,721 3,119,316 220,578 66,907 51,308 122,935 103,959
2019 3,673,790 3,099,812 229,268 64,074 51,405 124,327 104,355
2020 3,633,734 3,093,916 240,268 59,940 50,929 79,188 106,506

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.

2020 Unique Borrowers Total Circulation Total Holds Placed
Chinook Regional Library 4315 147,536 58,561
Lakeland Library Region 4925 177,483 66,871
Pahkisimon Nuyeʔáh Library System 3110 43,783 5373
Palliser Regional Library 5427 176,139 70,009
Parkland Library Region 4922 159,748 72,708
Prince Albert Public Library 2485 74,668 27,566
Regina Public Library 26,975 1,071,965 300,965
Saskatoon Public Library 31,766 1,114,243 438,034
Southeast Regional Library 8057 265,279 124,707
Wapiti Regional Library 7169 250,260 91,417
Wheatland Regional Library 7756 325,628 157,049
Total 103,696 3,805,484 1,413,585

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: While the pandemic had a negative impact on access to physical collections, it resulted in an increase in use of OverDrive/library2go and other electronic resources.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Chinook Regional Library 35,083 36,133 36,058 38,011 40,075 46,885 70,140
Lakeland Library Region 48,975 51,584 49,800 48,763 31,883 38,026 79,339
Pahkisimon Nuyeʔáh Library System 1792 1804 2200 2575 3139 3647 5018
Palliser Regional Library 45,597 44,291 42,604 41,800 42,648 45,944 67,595
Parkland Library Region 32,434 34,734 35,509 35,189 35,066 42,036 61,721
Prince Albert Public Library N/A N/A N/A N/A 13,111 14,672 21,982
Regina Public Library 122,689 126,420 122,295 118,998 122,228 159,358 320,597
Saskatoon Public Library 161,508 167,816 173,138 175,516 180,513 221,817 391,059
Southeast Regional Library 52,135 56,397 57,720 62,316 65,483 74,679 108,110
Wapiti Regional Library 56,546 57,925 59,709 59,084 45,993 51,792 75,182
Wheatland Regional Library 77,893 87,513 89,936 96,261 98,336 108,919 151,597
Total 634,655 664,668 668,998 678,531 678,480 807,802 1,352,293

Interagency Holds

The chart below provides the number of physical items that were shipped among SILS agencies to fill hold requests.  Interlibrary loan (ILL) items, which are borrowed from outside the SILS system, are excluded.

2020 Loaned to another library Borrowed from another library
Chinook Regional Library 31,095 33,167
Lakeland Library Region 45,644 32,215
Pahkisimon Nuyeʔáh Library System 23,179 2422
Palliser Regional Library 55,041 26,224
Parkland Library Region 31,040 38,754
Prince Albert Public Library 29,154 9876
Provincial Library 2773 270
Regina Public Library 83,528 107,708
Saskatoon Public Library 51,208 68,153
Southeast Regional Library 48,339 52,945
Wapiti Regional Library 36,524 44,117
Wheatland Regional Library 42,945 64,619
Total 812,337 812,337

Reciprocal Borrowing

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

2020 Unique Borrowers Items Checked Out Holds Picked Up
Chinook Regional Library 165 1830 327
Lakeland Library Region 183 2241 455
Pahkisimon Nuyeʔáh Library System 59 312 12
Palliser Regional Library 306 3842 803
Parkland Library Region 499 8609 1767
Prince Albert Public Library 91 981 98
Provincial Library 10 8 5
Regina Public Library 519 4070 1398
Saskatoon Public Library 746 8906 3288
Southeast Regional Library 1267 29,997 6647
Wapiti Regional Library 1060 22,081 5534
Wheatland Regional Library 2092 38,389 6980
Total 6997 121,266 27,314

More statistics available here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016