The Integrated Library System (ILS) is composed of bibliographic records including inventoried items, and patron records including circulation data.
The data is used in the daily operation of the library, including circulation, online public catalog, cataloging, acquisitions, collection development, processing, and serials control.
This dataset represents the usage of inventoried items by active patrons. Per the California State Library definition, San Francisco Public Library defines active patrons as a) patrons with unexpired library cards and b) patrons who had circulation activity within the last three years.

The City Survey asks residents to indicate their usage and satisfaction with city services and infrastructure like libraries, Muni, public safety, and street cleanliness. The City Survey was conducted every year from 1996 to 2004, and biennially from 2005 onward. The City Survey was not conducted in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumed in 2023. Survey methodology was changed in 2015 from a mail to a phone survey, and expanded to include in-person and online options in 2023. Comparisons to previous years should be interpreted with caution.

Results should be weighted using the column "weight" in order to adjust for demographic differences between the City Survey sample and San Francisco's population. Please note that survey results were originally reported as unweighted until 1997. From 1997 onward, all City Survey results were reweighted with the exception of data from 2011. For ease of use, the column "weight" has been coded with a value of one for these years.

A code book is also attached to this dataset under About > Attachments. Neighborhood and Zip Code data have been hidden from this data set and are only available upon special request to citysurvey@sfgov.org.

For more information regarding San Francisco City Survey 1996-2023 Database, please visit the City Survey website at https://sf.gov/citysurvey or contact the San Francisco Controller's Office at citysurvey@sfgov.org.