Allen County Public Library
Allen County Public Library is a library district based in Fort Wayne (Allen County), Indiana, serving a legal service area of 385,410 residents through 14 library buildings. Among the 235 profiled systems in Indiana, it ranks first for print volumes, second for population served, second for total visits and second for physical checkouts.
Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks second for library floor space per resident, third for print volumes per resident, eighth for paid staff per resident and ninth for visits per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.7 times the operating spending per resident and 2.4 times the physical checkouts per resident.
Allen County against the 122 systems of its size class
Allen County, building by building
The 14 buildings cover 525,057 square feet in total, 1.36 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Allen County Public Library at 367,000 square feet; the smallest is Grabill Branch at 7,885. The longest hours are at Allen County Public Library, 71 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County Public Library | Central library | Fort Wayne | 71 | 367,000 |
| Aboite Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 60 | 13,319 |
| Dupont Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 60 | 18,528 |
| Georgetown Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 60 | 19,500 |
| Grabill Branch | Branch | Grabill | 57 | 7,885 |
| Hessen Cassel Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 11,973 |
| Little Turtle Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 13,150 |
| Monroeville Branch | Branch | Monroeville | 48 | 8,502 |
| New Haven Branch | Branch | New Haven | 57 | 10,500 |
| Pontiac Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 10,500 |
| Shawnee Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 11,200 |
| Tecumseh Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 11,500 |
| Waynedale Branch | Branch | Fort Wayne | 57 | 13,300 |
| Woodburn Branch | Branch | Woodburn | 48 | 8,200 |
Allen County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,711,380
- Physical checkouts
- 3,226,051
- …of children's materials
- 1,504,375
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,408,115
- …of e-books
- 568,576
- …of e-audio
- 768,300
- Registered users
- 199,223
- Program sessions
- 5,855
- Program attendance
- 133,093
- Print volumes
- 2,420,702
- Audio items (physical)
- 52,192
- Video items (physical)
- 103,258
- Public computers
- 369
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 41,756
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 323.8
- Operating spending
- $36.8 million
- …on books and other materials
- $5 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Allen County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $42 million, or $109.00 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 235 profiled systems in Indiana. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Allen County since FY 2019
Visits were 22% below the FY 2019 count of 2.2 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 29% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Allen County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 58% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 23 people each.
Library districts of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Kent District Library in Michigan.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent District Library | Comstock Park, MI | 439,194 | 5.18 | 11.80 | $70.65 |
| Rangeview Library District | Thornton, CO | 406,718 | 1.84 | 1.59 | $51.73 |
| Saint Charles City-County Library District | St. Peters, MO | 405,262 | 3.02 | 11.03 | $50.18 |
| Douglas County Libraries | Castle Rock, CO | 383,911 | 3.65 | 9.77 | $87.76 |
| Henderson District Public Libraries | Henderson, NV | 341,980 | 1.54 | 3.75 | $25.55 |
| Genesee District Library | Flint, MI | 334,645 | 2.06 | 1.87 | $27.33 |
Nearest in size within Indiana
- Lake County Public Library · Merrillville · 251,041 residents
- Hamilton East Public Library · Noblesville · 180,617 residents
- Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library · Evansville · 180,136 residents
- St. Joseph County Public Library · South Bend · 170,799 residents