How to compare your library with similar-size systems
Compare rates, not totals, and compare within a size class. Divide visits, checkouts and spending by the population the library serves, then set the result beside systems serving a similar number of people. The peer check does both for all 8,561 profiled systems in one step.
Why totals mislead
A system serving a million people will always record more visits than one serving 30,000, so raw totals mostly measure population. Rates per resident remove that, but they introduce a second effect: small systems post higher rates, because a single building with a few thousand residents and a steady stream of visitors from neighboring towns produces a big ratio. Comparing within a size class handles both. This site uses the eleven population classes that IMLS uses in its own benchmarking tables.
Step 1: find the system and its class
Every system page names its class under the shelf chart, and the peer check picks it automatically. Take Columbus Metropolitan Library: it serves 971,930 residents and sits in the 500,000 to 999,999 class with 60 other profiled systems.
Step 2: read the percentiles
A percentile says what share of the class has a lower value. Columbus stands at the 98th percentile for visits per resident, the 93rd for physical checkouts per resident and the 84th for operating spending per resident. On the system page those are the spine heights; the dashed line across the shelf is the median, the 50th percentile.
Step 3: look at the named peers
Percentiles hide who the neighbors are. The peer check lists the six systems nearest in population, wherever they are, with the class median as a last row:
| System | State | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Metropolitan Library | Ohio | 971,930 | 5.63 | 9.76 | $85.18 |
| San Jose Public Library | California | 969,491 | 3.80 | 5.94 | $64.75 |
| Austin Public Library | Texas | 979,882 | 3.04 | 3.97 | $71.58 |
| Indianapolis Public Library | Indiana | 963,251 | 2.47 | 5.73 | $62.55 |
| Prince George's County Memorial Library System | Maryland | 955,306 | 1.42 | 1.80 | $41.80 |
| Buffalo and Erie County Public Library | New York | 954,236 | 0.73 | 1.06 | $34.33 |
| Gwinnett County Public Library System | Georgia | 992,705 | 2.06 | 2.73 | $25.88 |
| Size-class median | 2.19 | 3.86 | $47.86 |
Columbus lends more physical items per resident than any of its six peers, while none of them spend more per resident. A table like this is where questions start: whether a peer runs more branches, keeps longer hours or counts visits another way. The system pages answer some of these with branch counts, open hours and staffing.
Step 4: switch to same-state peers
Setting the comparison to "same state" keeps state aid rules and service-area definitions the same and, in most states, the reporting period too. The address bar keeps the choice, so a same-state comparison can be bookmarked or sent to a colleague.
The same system, compared inside Ohio
Switching to same-state peers changes the comparison group. The four Ohio systems closest to Columbus in population are listed below; one of them records more visits per resident. All Ohio libraries report on the calendar year, so the same-state view at least removes differences in reporting period.
| System | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library | 830,639 | 4.93 | 15.34 | $87.83 |
| Cuyahoga County Public Library | 626,288 | 6.26 | 11.75 | $119.50 |
| Dayton Metro Library | 452,238 | 4.40 | 6.51 | $83.51 |
| Toledo-Lucas County Public Library | 428,505 | 4.73 | 7.25 | $104.07 |
Structure matters as much as size
Population is only the first filter. Columbus runs 23 buildings; among its six national peers the number ranges from 9 at Buffalo and Erie County Public Library to 25 at San Jose Public Library. A system with many small branches spreads its hours, staff and collection differently from one with a few large buildings, and per-resident rates reflect that. Each system page lists its buildings with weekly hours and floor area, so this check takes one click.
The legal form is the other filter. A library district funded by its own levy, a city department and a county system can serve the same number of people under different budget rules. On system pages, the peer table therefore uses systems of the same legal form in other states, while the peer check uses population alone; looking at both gives a fuller picture than either.
Reading the class median
The last row of the peer table is the median of the whole size class, not of the six peers. For systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 people, the median is 2.19 visits, 3.86 physical checkouts and $47.86 in operating spending per resident; Columbus records 2.6 times the median for visits per resident. A dash in any cell means the library did not report the item for FY 2024 or IMLS estimated it; estimates are never shown on this site. When a peer has a dash, compare it on the measures it did report rather than leaving it out of the picture.
Pitfalls to keep in mind
In 15 states service areas overlap, so a county system's per-resident figures can look low because some of its residents also have a city library. Fiscal years differ by state. Visits are counted in different ways. And dollars are nominal, not adjusted for local costs. None of this makes the comparison useless, but it is the reason the site describes rather than ranks libraries as better or worse. The full list of definitions is on the survey notes.