Broward County Libraries Division
Broward County Libraries Division is a county public library system based in Fort Lauderdale (Broward County), Florida, serving a legal service area of 1,776,271 residents through 37 library buildings. Of all systems profiled nationwide, it ranks sixth for public computers, eighth for total visits and tenth for program attendance.
Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks third for library floor space per resident, sixth for visits per resident, seventh for public computers per resident and eighth for local government's share of operating revenue, but ranks sixth-lowest for physical checkouts per resident and records the fifth-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Among the 62 profiled systems in Florida, it ranks second for population served, second for operating spending, second for number of library buildings and seventh for physical checkouts.
Broward County Libraries Division against the 35 systems of its size class
Broward County Libraries Division, building by building
The 37 buildings cover 1,477,562 square feet in total, 0.83 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Alvin Sherman Library, Research & Information Technology Ctr at 325,000 square feet; the smallest is Hollywood Beach Bernice P. Oster Reading Center at 2,500. The longest hours are at Alvin Sherman Library, Research & Information Technology Ctr, 108.2 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broward County Main Library | Central library | Fort Lauderdale | 46.2 | 256,000 |
| African-American Research Library and Cultural Center | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 49.5 | 60,000 |
| Alvin Sherman Library, Research & Information Technology Ctr | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 108.2 | 325,000 |
| Beach Branch Library | Branch | Pompano Beach | 39.1 | 5,403 |
| Broward County Library Branch | Branch | Davie | 38.4 | 13,421 |
| Carver Ranches Branch | Branch | Hollywood | 45.2 | 10,000 |
| Century Plaza Branch | Branch | Deerfield Beach | 47.3 | 11,682 |
| Dania Beach Paul Demaio Branch | Branch | Dania Beach | 46 | 10,000 |
| Davie/Cooper City Branch | Branch | Davie | 46.1 | 10,000 |
| Deerfield Beach Percy White Branch | Branch | Deerfield Beach | 48.3 | 15,120 |
| Fort Lauderdale Branch | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 38.2 | 6,400 |
| Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 38.7 | 4,900 |
| Hallandale Beach Branch | Branch | Hallandale | 46 | 14,700 |
| Hollywood Beach Bernice P. Oster Reading Center | Branch | Hollywood | 38.2 | 2,500 |
| Hollywood Branch | Branch | Hollywood | 51.9 | 30,000 |
| Imperial Point Branch | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 45.8 | 14,500 |
| Jan Moran Collier City Learning Library | Branch | Pompano Beach | 38.2 | 17,100 |
| Lauderdale Lakes Branch | Branch | Lauderdale Lakes | 46.2 | 10,000 |
| Lauderhill Central Park | Branch | Lauderhill | 45.7 | 10,000 |
| Lauderhill Towne Centre Library | Branch | Lauderhill | 46.3 | 10,000 |
| Margate Catharine Young Branch | Branch | Margate | 46.1 | 15,800 |
| Miramar Branch | Branch | Miramar | 52.1 | 30,000 |
| North Lauderdale Saraniero Branch | Branch | North Lauderdale | 46.2 | 20,000 |
| North Regional/Bc Library | Branch | Coconut Creek | 46.1 | 103,600 |
| Northwest Branch Library | Branch | Pompano Beach | 46.2 | 10,000 |
| Northwest Regional Library | Branch | Coral Springs | 54.3 | 72,000 |
| Pembroke Pines Branch/Walter C. Young Resource Center | Branch | Pembroke Pines | 53.6 | 24,000 |
| Pompano Beach Branch | Branch | Pompano Beach | 46.4 | 25,836 |
| Riverland Branch | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 45.8 | 10,500 |
| South Regional/Bc Library | Branch | Pembroke Pines | 59.8 | 70,000 |
| Southwest Regional Library | Branch | Pembroke Pines | 60.1 | 78,000 |
| Stirling Road Branch | Branch | Hollywood | 46.2 | 20,000 |
| Sunrise Dan Pearl Branch | Branch | Sunrise | 45.6 | 19,100 |
| Tamarac Branch | Branch | Tamarac | 52 | 30,000 |
| Tyrone Bryant Branch | Branch | Fort Lauderdale | 46.3 | 10,000 |
| West Regional Library | Branch | Plantation | 58.7 | 72,000 |
| Weston Branch | Branch | Weston | 46 | 30,000 |
Broward County Libraries Division in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 5,375,329
- Physical checkouts
- 2,997,110
- Registered users
- 1,621,210
- Program sessions
- 17,183
- Program attendance
- 464,739
- Print volumes
- 1,341,841
- Audio items (physical)
- 98,182
- Video items (physical)
- 213,647
- Public computers
- 1,799
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 92,417
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 641.5
- Operating spending
- $78.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $8.5 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Broward County Libraries Division gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $78.4 million, or $44.11 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points above the combined share for the 62 profiled systems in Florida.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Broward County Libraries Division since FY 2019
Visits were 25% below the FY 2019 count of 7.2 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 50% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Broward County Libraries Division programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 45% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 27 people each.
County libraries 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 Wake County Public Libraries in North Carolina.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County Public Libraries | Raleigh, NC | 1,194,900 | 2.55 | 7.46 | $29.66 |
| San Diego County Library | San Diego, CA | 1,111,527 | 2.50 | 5.26 | $61.63 |
| Fulton County Library System | Atlanta, GA | 1,094,693 | 2.13 | 2.10 | $27.24 |
| Montgomery County Public Libraries | Rockville, MD | 1,054,827 | 3.36 | 6.90 | $44.50 |
| Contra Costa County Library | Martinez, CA | 1,033,891 | 2.37 | 4.66 | $42.65 |
| Fresno County Public Library | Fresno, CA | 993,976 | 1.12 | 1.86 | $35.58 |
Nearest in size within Florida
- Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative · Tampa · 1,559,678 residents
- Orange County Library District · Orlando · 1,457,330 residents
- Miami-Dade Public Library System · Miami · 2,406,299 residents
- Jacksonville Public Library · Jacksonville · 1,062,145 residents