Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is a public library system based in Charlotte (Mecklenburg County), North Carolina, serving a legal service area of 1,162,168 residents through 23 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina, it leads on operating spending, public computers and electronic checkouts and ranks second for population served.
Of all 8,476 systems profiled nationwide, it ranks ninth for program attendance. Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks second for program attendance per resident, seventh for weekly open hours per outlet and eighth for paid staff per resident and records the fifth-largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019, but ranks sixth-lowest for local government's share of operating revenue and tenth-lowest for print volumes per resident.
Charlotte Mecklenburg against the 35 systems of its size class
Charlotte Mecklenburg in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 2,261,567
- Physical checkouts
- 4,704,647
- …of children's materials
- 2,937,147
- Electronic checkouts
- 3,942,322
- …of e-books
- 1,825,485
- …of e-audio
- 1,321,291
- Registered users
- 771,140
- Program sessions
- 20,666
- Program attendance
- 479,406
- Print volumes
- 819,422
- Audio items (physical)
- 22,748
- Video items (physical)
- 23,678
- Public computers
- 508
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 63,751
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 468.0
- Operating spending
- $55.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $6.8 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Charlotte Mecklenburg gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $62.5 million, or $53.82 per resident. The local-government share sits 6 percentage points below the combined share for the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina. Federal money made up 2.2% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Closest in size nationwide
All six of these systems record 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 |
| Fairfax County Public Library | Fairfax, VA | 1,169,440 | 2.75 | 7.09 | $40.63 |
| 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 |
| Pima County Public Library | Tucson, AZ | 1,086,634 | 2.34 | 1.57 | $41.62 |
| Jacksonville Public Library | Jacksonville, FL | 1,062,145 | 2.09 | 3.61 | $38.07 |
Charlotte Mecklenburg since FY 2019
Visits were 31% below the FY 2019 count of 3.3 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 2% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Charlotte Mecklenburg programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 79% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 23 people each.
Charlotte Mecklenburg, building by building
The 22 buildings cover 453,962 square feet in total, 0.39 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Imaginon: the Joe & Joan Martin Center at 102,000 square feet; the smallest is Founders Hall at 1,135. The longest hours, 60.4 a week, are shared by seven buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegra Westbrooks Regional | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 19,400 |
| Cornelius Branch Library | Branch | Cornelius | 57.6 | 5,500 |
| Davidson Branch Library | Branch | Davidson | 57.6 | 6,000 |
| Founders Hall | Branch | Charlotte | 37.3 | 1,135 |
| Hickory Grove Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 16,000 |
| Imaginon: the Joe & Joan Martin Center | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 102,000 |
| Independence Regional Library | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 18,670 |
| Library Administration Center | Branch | Charlotte | – | 50,000 |
| Matthews Branch Library | Branch | Matthews | 57.6 | 15,000 |
| Mint Hill Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 12,000 |
| Mountain Island Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 16,000 |
| Myers Park Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 3,969 |
| North County Regional Library | Branch | Huntersville | 60.4 | 23,728 |
| Pineville Library | Branch | Pineville | 57.6 | 19,000 |
| Plaza Midwood Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 8,000 |
| South Boulevard Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 18,850 |
| South County Regional Library | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 34,000 |
| South Park Regional Library | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 24,000 |
| Steele Creek Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 14,910 |
| Sugar Creek Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 9,300 |
| University City Regional Library | Branch | Charlotte | 60.4 | 24,000 |
| West Boulevard Branch Library | Branch | Charlotte | 57.6 | 12,500 |
| Moli | Bookmobile | Charlotte | 16.6 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Nearest in size within North Carolina
- Wake County Public Libraries · Raleigh · 1,194,900 residents
- Greensboro Public Library · Greensboro · 435,509 residents
- Forsyth County Public Library · Winston-Salem · 392,839 residents
- Cumberland County Public Library · Fayetteville · 337,970 residents