Buncombe County Public Libraries
Buncombe County Public Libraries is a county public library system based in Asheville (Buncombe County), North Carolina, serving a legal service area of 277,047 residents through 12 library buildings. Among the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina, it ranks fourth for physical checkouts, fifth for total visits, fifth for number of library buildings and seventh for population served.
Against the median system of its size class, it records only 49% of the public computers per resident and 30% less program attendance per resident.
Buncombe County against the 122 systems of its size class
Buncombe County since FY 2019
Visits were 26% below the FY 2019 count of 993,922 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 8% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Buncombe County programs
Programs for adults drew 51% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 24 people each.
Buncombe County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 739,796
- Physical checkouts
- 1,227,433
- …of children's materials
- 667,779
- Electronic checkouts
- 734,637
- …of e-books
- 309,816
- …of e-audio
- 329,061
- Registered users
- 129,302
- Program sessions
- 1,611
- Program attendance
- 38,854
- Print volumes
- 435,048
- Audio items (physical)
- 31,546
- Video items (physical)
- 17,290
- Public computers
- 84
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 25,584
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 83.1
- Operating spending
- $8 million
- …on books and other materials
- $773,068
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Buncombe County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $8.8 million, or $31.61 per resident. The local-government share sits 8 percentage points above the combined share for the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Buncombe County, building by building
The 12 buildings cover 130,866 square feet in total, 0.47 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Pack Memorial Library at 56,000 square feet; the smallest is Swannanoa Branch Library at 1,212. The longest hours, 41 a week, are shared by 12 buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack Memorial Library | Central library | Asheville | 41 | 56,000 |
| Black Mountain Branch Library | Branch | Black Mountain | 41 | 5,694 |
| East Asheville Branch Library | Branch | Asheville | 41 | 14,000 |
| Enka Branch Library | Branch | Candler | 41 | 8,580 |
| Fairview Branch Library | Branch | Fairview | 41 | 7,500 |
| Leicester Branch Library | Branch | Leicester | 41 | 5,500 |
| North Asheville Branch Library | Branch | Asheville | 41 | 7,800 |
| South Asheville Branch Library | Branch | Asheville | 41 | 2,980 |
| South Buncombe-Skyland Library | Branch | Asheville | 41 | 7,800 |
| Swannanoa Branch Library | Branch | Swannanoa | 41 | 1,212 |
| Weaverville Library | Branch | Weaverville | 41 | 8,000 |
| West Asheville Branch Library | Branch | Asheville | 41 | 5,800 |
County 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 San Mateo County Libraries in California.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York County Library System | Rock Hill, SC | 282,090 | 1.51 | 3.52 | $32.11 |
| Frederick County Public Libraries | Frederick, MD | 279,835 | 3.66 | 8.32 | $69.33 |
| Forsyth County Public Library | Cumming, GA | 279,366 | 2.73 | 8.20 | $34.06 |
| St. Tammany Parish Library | Covington, LA | 277,615 | 2.18 | 2.30 | $40.32 |
| San Mateo County Libraries | San Mateo, CA | 273,370 | 6.20 | 8.78 | $159.85 |
| Brown County Library | Green Bay, WI | 273,297 | 2.31 | 4.70 | $26.67 |
Nearest in size within North Carolina
- Union County Public Library · Monroe · 257,682 residents
- Cabarrus County Public Library · Concord · 242,880 residents
- Gaston County Public Library · Gastonia · 239,636 residents
- New Hanover County Public Library · Wilmington · 239,514 residents