librarysystems

Birmingham Public Library

Birmingham, AlabamaJefferson CountyMunicipal libraryMid-size cityFiscal year October 2023 to September 2024

Birmingham Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Birmingham (Jefferson County), Alabama, serving a legal service area of 196,910 residents through 18 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 214 profiled systems in Alabama, it leads on operating spending, number of library buildings and print volumes and ranks second for total visits.

Among profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks second for library floor space per resident and fifth for print volumes per resident, but records the tenth-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.2 times the visits per resident and 2.2 times the paid staff per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 100,000 to 249,999

Birmingham against the 360 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class4.53Visitsper resident95th percentile1.82Checkoutsper resident23rd percentile$72.70Spendingper resident86th percentile3.51Print volumesper resident99th percentile361Program visitsper 1,000 people75th percentile11.0Computersper 10,000 people87th percentile34.9Open hoursper outlet a week20th percentile7.5Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people91st percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident4.5395th pct.Checkouts per resident1.8223rd pct.Spending per resident$72.7086th pct.Print volumes per resident3.5199th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people36175th pct.Computers per 10,000 people11.087th pct.Open hours per outlet a week34.920th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people7.591st pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Birmingham in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
891,495
Physical checkouts
358,514
…of children's materials
134,495
Electronic checkouts
265,880
…of e-books
124,228
…of e-audio
105,737
Registered users
76,252
Program sessions
2,871
Program attendance
71,071
Print volumes
691,758
Audio items (physical)
26,473
Video items (physical)
39,694
Public computers
217
Public service hours, all outlets
34,520
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
147.0
Operating spending
$14.3 million
…on books and other materials
$803,885
Overdue fines on print items
charged

Where Birmingham gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $16.2 million, or $82.24 per resident. The local-government share sits 8 percentage points above the combined share for the 213 profiled systems in Alabama.

This system96%All profiled systems in Alabama88%
This system96%All profiled systems in Alabama88%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Municipal libraries of similar size in other states

None of these six systems records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Huntington Beach Public Library in California.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Grand Prairie Public Library SystemGrand Prairie, TX202,1341.851.20$18.67
Grand Rapids Public LibraryGrand Rapids, MI198,9172.493.88$66.35
Oxnard Public LibraryOxnard, CA197,5361.080.91$17.40
Tempe Public LibraryTempe, AZ193,3362.042.75$19.14
Huntington Beach Public LibraryHuntington Beach, CA192,5033.414.56$30.19
Glendale Library, Arts & CultureGlendale, CA191,5863.153.64$70.44

Birmingham since FY 2019

Visits were 32% below the FY 2019 count of 1.3 million (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 54% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 100406080100FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 100406080100FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Birmingham programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 37% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 25 people each.

Children 0–1126,242Young adults 12–181,370Adults 19+24,240General interest19,219
Children 0–1126,242Young adults 12–181,370Adults 19+24,240General interest19,219

Birmingham, building by building

The 18 buildings cover 391,618 square feet in total, 1.99 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Birmingham Public-Central Branch at 229,800 square feet; the smallest is Birmingham Public-Inglenook Branch at 2,814. The longest hours are at Birmingham Public-Avondale Regional Library, 53 a week.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Birmingham Public-Central BranchCentral libraryBirmingham51.8229,800
Birmingham Public-Avondale Regional LibraryBranchBirmingham5314,552
Birmingham Public-East Ensley BranchBranchBirmingham154,500
Birmingham Public-East Lake BranchBranchBirmingham–12,000
Birmingham Public-Ensley BranchBranchBirmingham–6,480
Birmingham Public-Five Points West BranchBranchBirmingham52.530,000
Birmingham Public-Inglenook BranchBranchBirmingham152,814
Birmingham Public-North Avondale BranchBranchBirmingham424,250
Birmingham Public-North Birmingham Regional BranchBranchBirmingham35.214,000
Birmingham Public-Powderly BranchBranchBirmingham425,082
Birmingham Public-Pratt City BranchBranchBirmingham428,140
Birmingham Public-Smithfield BranchBranchBirmingham41.28,100
Birmingham Public-Southside BranchBranchBirmingham428,000
Birmingham Public-Springville Road Regional BranchBranchBirmingham52.517,100
Birmingham Public-Titusville BranchBranchBirmingham429,000
Birmingham Public-West End BranchBranchBirmingham428,200
Birmingham Public-Woodlawn BranchBranchBirmingham426,500
Birmingham Public-Wylam BranchBranchBirmingham423,100
BookmobileBookmobileBirmingham12

A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.

Nearest in size within Alabama

All profiled systems in Alabama