RAILS Membership Standards Data Collection

The RAILS System Membership Standards Committee developed membership standards for all types of RAILS libraries to help them provide the best possible service to their customers.

On April 27, 2018, the RAILS Board approved a second amended version of the proposed system membership standards, and we are working with the Illinois State Library on collecting data from our member libraries.

This form is for data collection only. This first year we are only collecting data about how libraries meet the standards so that we can understand the full impact of the proposed standards and make any necessary changes. Your responses will not affect your library's membership in RAILS or eligibility for state grants.

This survey is required for all RAILS member libraries and must be completed in addition to the annual certification process before March 31, 2019.

All items should be answered for your library institution as a whole, and not for individual branches or locations:

  • For public libraries, answer questions about the library agency, not individual branches.
  • For school libraries, answer questions collectively for the school district.
  • For academic and special libraries, answer questions collectively for all Illinois library locations within the academic institution or company/organization.

If you have any questions, please contact standards@railslibraries.info.

Before You Begin

You will need the following information to complete the form:

  • Your annual budget
  • The population of your service area (academic, school and special libraries use the number of people in your school or organization who are eligible to use your library)
  • Your annual collection expenditures, including:
    • Print and non print materials
    • E-content, including shared ebook collections
    • ILS
    • Resource sharing and/or bibliographic utilities

To help you prepare, a Standards Data Form Preview (PDF file) document lists the questions from the online form.

You may also want to review the Glossary of Terms (PDF file) adopted by the RAILS Membership Standards Committee.

If you're not able to enter all your library's information in one sitting, you can save the form at various points and return to it later.

Some questions on the data form have pop-up help to provide specific instructions.

Login using your email address and Library Learning (L2) password, and then ...

Note: Only library directors and other employees who have library/staff editing access in L2 can view the data collection form.