Brownsville Public Library
Brownsville Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Brownsville (Cameron County), Texas, serving a legal service area of 259,714 residents through two library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks fourth for weekly open hours per outlet, fifth for the electronic share of checkouts and ninth for local government's share of operating revenue, but ranks fifth-lowest for physical checkouts per resident and records the fifth-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019.
By population served it is the 14th-largest of the 503 profiled systems in Texas. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 44% of the operating spending per resident and 39% fewer paid staff per resident.
Brownsville against the 122 systems of its size class
Brownsville, building by building
The two buildings cover 66,365 square feet in total, 0.26 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Brownsville Public Library at 46,365 square feet; the smallest is Southmost Branch Library at 20,000. The longest hours are at Southmost Branch Library, 65.2 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Public Library | Central library | Brownsville | 64.9 | 46,365 |
| Southmost Branch Library | Branch | Brownsville | 65.2 | 20,000 |
Brownsville in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 599,312
- Physical checkouts
- 164,346
- …of children's materials
- 60,250
- Electronic checkouts
- 181,878
- …of e-books
- 10,162
- …of e-audio
- 35,850
- Registered users
- 101,643
- Program sessions
- 516
- Program attendance
- 34,270
- Print volumes
- 224,066
- Audio items (physical)
- 2,716
- Video items (physical)
- 32,438
- Public computers
- 225
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 6,702
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 49.7
- Operating spending
- $4.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $868,234
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Brownsville gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $4.1 million, or $15.98 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 503 profiled systems in Texas.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Brownsville since FY 2019
Visits were 34% below the FY 2019 count of 902,303 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 49% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Brownsville programs
Programs for a general audience drew 56% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 66 people each.
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Midpointe Library System in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa County Library System | Milton, FL | 203,517 | 1.02 | 1.95 | $14.99 |
| Peoria Public Library System | Peoria, AZ | 203,065 | 1.82 | 5.07 | $27.40 |
| Midpointe Library System | Middletown, OH | 202,986 | 3.27 | 7.49 | $50.01 |
| Grand Rapids Public Library | Grand Rapids, MI | 198,917 | 2.49 | 3.88 | $66.35 |
| Oxnard Public Library | Oxnard, CA | 197,536 | 1.08 | 0.91 | $17.40 |
| Birmingham Public Library | Birmingham, AL | 196,910 | 4.53 | 1.82 | $72.70 |
Nearest in size within Texas
- Laredo Public Library · Laredo · 257,602 residents
- Irving Public Library · Irving · 254,373 residents
- Nicholson Memorial Library System · Garland · 243,470 residents
- Plano Public Library System · Plano · 290,190 residents