Chesterfield County Public Library
Chesterfield County Public Library is a county public library system based in Chesterfield, Virginia, serving a legal service area of 369,943 residents through 10 library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks tenth for weekly open hours per outlet and records the third-largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019.
Among the 93 profiled systems in Virginia, it ranks fifth for population served, sixth for physical checkouts, seventh for total visits and eighth for operating spending. Against the median system of its size class, it records 65% more physical checkouts per resident and 30% more paid staff per resident.
Chesterfield County against the 122 systems of its size class
Chesterfield County since FY 2019
Visits were 24% below the FY 2019 count of 1.2 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 18% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Chesterfield County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 52% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 31 people each.
Chesterfield County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 889,127
- Physical checkouts
- 2,163,267
- …of children's materials
- 1,328,436
- Electronic checkouts
- 804,283
- …of e-books
- 388,363
- …of e-audio
- 334,492
- Program sessions
- 2,568
- Program attendance
- 79,273
- Print volumes
- 442,247
- Audio items (physical)
- 27,195
- Video items (physical)
- 49,458
- Public computers
- 187
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 31,200
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 150.6
- Operating spending
- $14.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.4 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Chesterfield County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $14.4 million, or $38.90 per resident. The local-government share is close to 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)
Chesterfield County, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 190,700 square feet in total, 0.52 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Central Library at 48,000 square feet; the smallest is Enon Library at 4,100. The longest hours, 60 a week, are shared by 10 buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Library | Central library | Chesterfield | 60 | 48,000 |
| Bon Air Library | Branch | N. Chesterfield | 60 | 15,000 |
| Chester Library | Branch | Chester | 60 | 15,500 |
| Clover Hill Library | Branch | Midlothian | 60 | 15,100 |
| Enon Library | Branch | Chester | 60 | 4,100 |
| Ettrick-Matoaca Library | Branch | S. Chesterfield | 60 | 8,000 |
| LA Prade Library | Branch | N. Chesterfield | 60 | 20,000 |
| Meadowdale Library | Branch | N. Chesterfield | 60 | 20,000 |
| Midlothian Library | Branch | Midlothian | 60 | 25,000 |
| North Courthouse Road | Branch | Midlothian | 60 | 20,000 |
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 Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lucie County Library System | Fort Pierce, FL | 385,605 | 1.31 | 1.48 | $17.08 |
| Akron-Summit Cnty Public Library | Akron, OH | 381,648 | 3.83 | 8.80 | $81.66 |
| Davis County Library | Farmington, UT | 373,207 | 1.90 | 7.01 | $23.52 |
| Burlington County Library | Westampton, NJ | 363,983 | 1.76 | 2.82 | $34.45 |
| Horry County Memorial Library | Conway, SC | 351,029 | 1.22 | 2.46 | $18.39 |
| Anoka County Library | Blaine, MN | 349,759 | 1.69 | 5.40 | $30.80 |
Nearest in size within Virginia
- Central Rappahannock Regional Library · Fredericksburg · 347,033 residents
- Henrico County Public Library · Henrico · 336,226 residents
- Loudoun County Public Library · Leesburg · 425,204 residents
- Virginia Beach Public Library · Virginia Beach · 458,028 residents