Chesapeake Public Library
Chesapeake Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Chesapeake, Virginia, serving a legal service area of 250,256 residents through seven library buildings. Among the 93 profiled systems in Virginia, it ranks eighth for population served, tenth for total visits, tenth for physical checkouts and tenth for operating spending.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 60% more paid staff per resident and 30% fewer public computers per resident.
Chesapeake against the 122 systems of its size class
Chesapeake, building by building
The seven buildings cover 169,510 square feet in total, 0.68 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Chesapeake Central Library at 67,838 square feet; the smallest is Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Library at 8,741. The longest hours, 60 a week, are shared by three buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Central Library | Central library | Chesapeake | 60 | 67,838 |
| Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 50 | 8,741 |
| Greenbrier Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 60 | 19,500 |
| Indian River Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 54 | 16,981 |
| Major Hillard Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 50 | 22,430 |
| Russell Memorial Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 60 | 17,000 |
| South Norfolk Memorial Library | Branch | Chesapeake | 54 | 17,020 |
Chesapeake in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 660,776
- Physical checkouts
- 943,824
- …of children's materials
- 462,146
- Electronic checkouts
- 418,084
- …of e-books
- 154,466
- …of e-audio
- 244,751
- Registered users
- 119,509
- Program sessions
- 2,042
- Program attendance
- 48,009
- Print volumes
- 267,246
- Audio items (physical)
- 20,304
- Video items (physical)
- 44,764
- Public computers
- 108
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 20,176
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 125.9
- Operating spending
- $12.4 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.3 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Chesapeake gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $12.9 million, or $51.53 per resident. The local-government share sits 5 percentage points above the combined share for the 93 profiled systems in Virginia. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Chesapeake since FY 2019
Visits were 36% below the FY 2019 count of 1 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 30% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Chesapeake programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 60% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 24 people each.
Municipal 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 Boise Public Library in Idaho.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Public Library | Brownsville, TX | 259,714 | 2.31 | 0.63 | $15.87 |
| Laredo Public Library | Laredo, TX | 257,602 | 1.17 | 0.82 | $18.74 |
| Irving Public Library | Irving, TX | 254,373 | 1.83 | 4.35 | $29.10 |
| Scottsdale Public Library | Scottsdale, AZ | 249,935 | 2.39 | 5.74 | $33.53 |
| Boise Public Library | Boise, ID | 243,657 | 2.92 | 6.79 | $73.62 |
| Nicholson Memorial Library System | Garland, TX | 243,470 | 1.09 | 1.41 | $24.65 |
Nearest in size within Virginia
- Jefferson-Madison Regional Library · Charlottesville · 239,717 residents
- Norfolk Public Library · Norfolk · 238,102 residents
- Arlington Dept. of Libraries · Arlington · 237,107 residents
- Richmond Public Library · Richmond · 226,623 residents