CAUL has collected statistics about various aspects of library practice for over 70 years. Australian and New Zealand university libraries supply data about collections, staffing, expenditure, library services, and library clients annually. The data is collected to facilitate cross-institutional benchmarking, support libraries in demonstrating value and impact, and inform sector-level aggregate data profiles for university libraries across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
About the dataset
Definitions for the dataset are available here.
Access the data
CAUL provides access to university library benchmarking data within the Members Area, for CAUL Members and their staff. This page is available to logged-in users only.
Data collection and release timeline
The statistics are produced annually from data supplied by CAUL Member institutions. The statistics timeline is generally as follows:
- Quarter 2:
- Data collection opens for university libraries to provide data for the previous calendar year.
- The Australian Government Department of Education releases population data for the year before last (for example, data for 2023 will be made available in the second quarter of 2025).
- Quarter 3:
- Population data for the year before last is published via CAUL’s Tableau Online environment. There is usually an 18-month delay in providing complete population data.
- Quarter 4:
- Data provided by university libraries for the previous calendar year is published via CAUL’s Tableau Online environment.
Data collection procedures
Data collection procedures for each year are made available in the second quarter of the year.