Our Library Data Finder tool uses data from IMLS.gov, including a number of "locale codes." These codes indicate the geographic setting of the library system.
- Locale and REAP Locale are similar scales for categorizing a location as urban, suburban, or rural.
- The HQ locale code is based on the library administrative entity's street address. The Modal code is based on the most common locale code of all of the branches within a library system. These are usually the same except for very large (geographical area) systems. Example: a library system with a headquarters in a large remote town (REAP code 5) and five remote rural branches (REAP code 6); the HQ code would be 5, the Modal code would be 6.
- The Geocode is used to indicate the geographic extent of the library's service area, such as city, county, or multi-county region.
The following code tables are from the IMLS PLS Data Documentation File.
Locale
Urban-centric locale code. The geographic location in terms of the size of the community in which it is located and the proximity of that community to urban and metropolitan areas.
- 11–City, Large: Territory inside an urbanized area and inside a principal city with population of 250,000 or more.
- 12–City, Mid-size: Territory inside an urbanized area and inside a principal city with a population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.
- 13–City, Small: Territory inside an urbanized area and inside a principal city with a population less than 100,000.
- 21–Suburb, Large: Territory outside a principal city and inside an urbanized area with population of 250,000 or more.
- 22–Suburb, Mid-size: Territory outside a principal city and inside an urbanized area with a population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.
- 23–Suburb, Small: Territory outside a principal city and inside an urbanized area with a population less than 100,000.
- 31–Town, Fringe: Territory inside an urban cluster that is less than or equal to 10 miles from an urbanized area.
- 32–Town, Distant: Territory inside an urban cluster that is more than 10 miles and less than or equal to 35 miles from an urbanized area.
- 33–Town, Remote: Territory inside an urban cluster that is more than 35 miles from an urbanized area.
- 41–Rural, Fringe: Census-defined rural territory that is less than or equal to 5 miles from an urbanized area, as well as rural territory that is less than or equal to 2.5 miles from an urban cluster.
- 42–Rural, Distant: Census-defined rural territory that is more than 5 miles but less than or equal to 25 miles from an urbanized area, as well as rural territory that is more than 2.5 miles but less than or equal to 10 miles from an urban cluster.
- 43–Rural, Remote: Census-defined rural territory that is more than 25 miles from an urbanized area and is also more than 10 miles from an urban cluster.
- M–Missing
REAP Locale
REAP (The Rural Education Achievement Program) Urban-centric locale code. The geographic location in terms of the size of the community in which it is located and the location of that community relative to urban and metropolitan areas.
- 01–Large City: A principal city of a metropolitan area, with the city having a population greater than or equal to 250,000.
- 02–Mid-size City: A principal city of a metropolitan area, with the city having a population less than 250,000.
- 03–Urban Fringe of a Large City: Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory within a metropolitan area of a large city and defined as urban by the Census Bureau.
- 04–Urban Fringe of a Mid-size City: Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory within a metropolitan area of a midsize city and defined as urban by the Census Bureau.
- 05–Large Town: An incorporated place or Census-designated place with a population greater than or equal to 25,000 and located outside a metropolitan area.
- 06–Small Town: An incorporated place or Census-designated place with a population less than 25,000 and greater than or equal to 2,500 and located outside a metropolitan area.
- 07–Rural, Outside Metropolitan Area: Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory not within a metropolitan area and defined as rural by the Census Bureau. 08–Rural, Inside Metropolitan Area: Any incorporated place, Census-designated place, or non-place territory within a metropolitan area and defined as rural by the Census Bureau.
Geocode
- CI1–Municipal Government (city, town, or village) (exactly)
- CI2–Municipal Government (city, town, or village) (most nearly)
- CO1–County/Parish (exactly)
- CO2–County/Parish (most nearly)
- MA1–Metropolitan Area (exactly)
- MA2–Metropolitan Area (most nearly)
- MC1–Multi-County (exactly)
- MC2–Multi-County (most nearly)
- SD1–School District (exactly)
- SD2–School District (most nearly)
- OTH–Other