Statistics Services

The CAUL Statistics service is a key element of the CAUL Analytics Portfolio. The CAUL Statistics provide data from university libraries in Australia and New Zealand, for the purposes of cross-institutional benchmarking, supporting libraries to demonstrate value and impact, and providing sector-level aggregate data for the profiling of ANZ academic libraries.

The CAUL Statistics include data on collections, staffing, expenditure, library services, and library clients for all Australian and New Zealand university libraries. The statistics are produced annually from data supplied by CAUL and CONZUL institutions.

The CAUL Statistics data collection period is open each year in the second quarter for data entry for the previous calendar year.

Accessing the CAUL Statistics dataset

Tableau Online

The dataset can be accessed via CAUL's Tableau Online instance by Member institution staff with an account.

Log in to Tableau Online.

Each Member institution is allocated one Tableau Online licence as part of the membership inclusions. Member institutions can purchase additional Tableau Online licences at a cost of AUD $320 per licence per calendar year (prorated). To arrange additional licences, please complete the additional licence request form. 

From January 2023, CAUL will only be ordering additional licences from the vendor once per month. To ensure your request for an additional licence is progressed as soon as possible, submit your request by the 15th of the month. Requests received after the 15th of the month will not be processed until the 15th of the following month. 

The following videos provide information about using CAUL's Tableau Online instance:

• Create your Tableau Online account and setup multi factor authentication
• Accessing CAUL Statistics via Tableau Online.

Download spreadsheets

If you do not have a Tableau Online account, you can download data in spreadsheet format using the links below.

Using the data

The definitions for data elements have changed over time and elements have been removed or changed. Be mindful of this when observing trends and making comparisons of data over multiple years.

View current or historical definitions.

2023 data collection

Data collection for 2023 will be open from Wednesday 15 May until Friday 28 June 2024. 

Please note the following useful links:

• Data entry interface - a username and password will be provided to the Institutional Statistics Contact (login required)
• Instructions for the CAUL Statistics Collection for the 2023 Statistics Year
• Current element definitions (Note: The element definitions have not been changed for the collection of the 2023 Statistics as a full review of the elements will be conducted later this year).

Please contact caul@caul.edu.au with any questions about the collection of the 2023 data statistics. 

History of the CAUL Statistics

• Statistics were originally published in 1953 in the "News Sheet of the University and College Libraries Section, Library Association of Australia". Data were recorded in "The Red Book".
• The data were published each year as the September supplement of Australian Academic and Research Libraries (AARL) until this was discontinued in 2008.
• From 1992 until 2021, CAVAL managed the collection and compilation of the data.
• From 2022, collection and provision of the data is managed by CAUL National Office.

Further information

Questions about CAUL Statistics? Need assistance with completing your statistics data entry? Email CAUL National Office.