The governing board of a school district shall, on or before August 31st, in each year, report to the State Department of Education on the condition of school libraries, for the year ending June 30th preceding. The report shall, in addition to other matters deemed expedient by the governing board or the librarians, contain the statistical and other information as is deemed desirable by the State Department of Education. For this purpose the State Department of Education may send to the several districts under its supervision, instructions or question blanks so as to obtain the material for a comparative study of library conditions in the state.