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Stories from the NFCCA Newsletter, the “North Four Corners News” |
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Stories from the NFCCA Newsletter, the “North Four Corners News” |
North Four Corners News ♦ December 2024
Using 2022 data compiled by the Institute of Museum and Library Services from all the public library systems in the U.S. and analyzed by The Washington Post, we can compare our own Montgomery County Public Library (MCPL) system with those across the nation.
By expenditures, MCPL is 55th of the 9,030 library systems surveyed, but in number of visits (2.54M), it’s 18th (D.C. is 19th). The New York Public Library is #1 in visits (9.258M).
In electronic audiobook collections, Clark County, Ohio, Public Library (15.38M) is #1. MoCo ranks 1,280th. I guess few of us listen to audiobooks.
In Ebook collections, MCPL ranks 1,342nd, one less than the Mesa (Ariz.) Public Library, which has only three libraries compared to MoCo’s 21. Mesa has one-fifth the number of visits MCPL has, so I presume it’s easier to download than visit in person. Plus their population size is one-third of our County’s.
In number of books in MCPL’s collection, MCPL ranks 25th; NYPL is again first, with 24.5M volumes. (New York also has 94 libraries and 3.6M in population, three times MoCo’s.)
In electronic circulation, Los Angeles Public Library is first with 12.4M, we a paltry 2.4M, 37th in rank, right behind D.C.
In circulation of physical books, MCPL ranks 15th (6,937,916), right behind Baltimore County Public Library (6,953,650) even though BCPL serves a population of 827,370 and MoCo 1,032,963. They have 19 libraries to our 21, but they spend more ($45.6M to MoCo’s $38.7M). Since MCPL patrons have access to BCPL books through the State-wide InterLibrary Loan program, however, perhaps that doesn’t matter.
Top readers seem to be in Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio), where their 41 libraries circulate 12.7M books to a population of only 830,062. (New York Public Library is only 7th here, circulating 3M fewer books than Cincinnati despite the latter having less than half the number of libraries — 41 to 94.)
But the Jessie Wakefield Memorial Library in Port Lions, Alaska, serves a population of 169 yet circulates 5,252 books per year from its collection of 10,702 books.
Round Top (Texas) Family Library, with only one library and serving a population of 93, loans 4,708 books a year from its collection of 9,901 books, plus 27,863 eBooks. That’s 50 books per person a year! How many books do you read annually?
Perhaps customers at the Egegik, Alaska, Village Library mainly go there to read and socialize. It serves the smallest population (39), and has 4,337 books, yet only 12 were checked out last year plus 11 from its eBook collection of 7. Yet it had 390 visits. Warmest place in town, maybe, where you don’t need to buy anything?
The Emily, Minnesota, Public Library, which spent the fourth least ($2,338) on its population of 806, nevertheless had 3,463 visits and loaned 4,720 books and 9,265 eBooks.
Byron, Nebraska, Public Library spent $6,275 for its population of 83, but the bulk must go toward electronic media. It has 15,947 books (of which only 382 were checked out), but 35,054 eBooks and 23,048 Audiobooks. 3,500 visits were logged!
[Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services, as presented in the “Department of Data” column in The Washington Post, 4 October 2024. (See links below.) This article was truncated in the newsletter.] ■
IMLS SURVEY WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE© 2024 NFCCA [Source: https://nfcca.org/news/nn202412c.html]