Librarians have always turned to the American Library Association (ALA) for statistical data on library use. This year, to reach a wider audience, the ALA has published "The State of America's Libraries" as a special e-issue of the Association's journal, "American Libraries" (also available as a downloadable pdf). The 80-page report present a sometimes bleak, but overall inspiring, picture of conditions in U.S. Libraries. Libraries are always heavily-used in times of economic downturn, but, as publicly funded institutions, libraries of all types are feeling a squeeze. The report states that the full effects of sequestration on libraries will not be known for some time. However, it is apparent that sequestration is aggravating "an already bleak situation for school libraries, where the number of school librarians has declined," due to funding cuts. Another worrisome area is digital publishing: as e-books increase in popularity with the reading public, many library users are unaware that libraries loan e-books, and some publishers still refuse to sell e-books to libraries for lending. The report concludes with 14 pages of sources, so that those who seek more information can find it easily.  [DS]