The program began in 1987 with 19 states and DC submitting data. All 19 states but Pennsylvania had 100% participation. Pennsylvania submitted data for 117 libraries (24% of is total.) In 1988, the count of states (including D.C. which is counted as a state in this series) submitting data was up to 45, 1989 50 submitted, and in 1990 Tennessee submitted data and the count was now to all 50 states plus DC. The various Outlying Areas submit data rarely. In order to process the data for PLDF3, a file was created of the beginning dates by state. These data are available in formats listed below. The dates are:
| State | Beginning Year |
|---|---|
| (AK) Alaska | 1988 |
| (AL) Alabama | 1989 |
| (AR) Arkansas | 1988 |
| (AS) American Samoa | 2013 |
| (AZ) Arizona | 1988 |
| (CA) California | 1988 |
| (CO) Colorado | 1987 |
| (CT) Connecticut | 1988 |
| (DC) District of Columbia | 1988 |
| (DE) Delaware | 1988 |
| (FL) Florida | 1987 |
| (GA) Georgia | 1989 |
| (GU) Guam | 1998 |
| (HI) Hawaii | 1988 |
| (IA) Iowa | 1987 |
| (ID) Idaho | 1987 |
| (IL) Illinois | 1988 |
| (IN) Indiana | 1987 |
| (KS) Kansas | 1989 |
| (KY) Kentucky | 1988 |
| (LA) Louisiana | 1988 |
| (MA) Massachusetts | 1988 |
| (MD) Maryland | 1988 |
| (ME) Maine | 1989 |
| (MI) Michigan | 1988 |
| (MN) Minnesota | 1987 |
| (MO) Missouri | 1988 |
| (MS) Mississippi | 1988 |
| (MP) Northern Mariana Islands | 1997 |
| (MT) Montana | 1987 |
| (NC) North Carolina | 1987 |
| (ND) North Dakota | 1988 |
| (NE) Nebraska | 1988 |
| (NH) New Hampshire | 1987 |
| (NJ) New Jersey | 1988 |
| (NM) New Mexico | 1988 |
| (NV) Nevada | 1989 |
| (NY) New York | 1987 |
| (OH) Ohio | 1987 |
| (OK) Oklahoma | 1987 |
| (OR) Oregon | 1987 |
| (PA) Pennsylvania | 1987 |
| (PW) Palau | 2000 |
| (RI) Rhode Island | 1988 |
| (SC) South Carolina | 1987 |
| (SD) South Dakota | 1988 |
| (TN) Tennessee | 1990 |
| (TX) Texas | 1987 |
| (UT) Utah | 1987 |
| (VA) Virginia | 1988 |
| (VI) Virgin Islands | 2000 |
| (VT) Vermont | 1988 |
| (WA) Washington | 1987 |
| (WI) Wisconsin | 1988 |
| (WV) West Virginia | 1988 |
| (WY) Wyoming | 1987 |
These files use the state abbreviations to identify data from the states and not the state names.
| Format | Filename | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCII | begindate.txt | 1KB | |
| Libre Office Calc spreadsheet | begindate.ods | 14KB | |
| Excel spreadsheet | begindate.xlsx | 9KB |