Dakota County Library
Dakota County Library is a county public library system based in Eagan (Dakota County), Minnesota, serving a legal service area of 449,658 residents through 10 library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks first for weekly open hours per outlet and eighth for physical checkouts per resident and records the third-largest gain in visits since FY 2019 and the fourth-largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019.
Among profiled systems in Minnesota, it ranks second for total visits, second for physical checkouts, second for program attendance and second for electronic checkouts. Against the median system of its size class, it records 59% more visits per resident and 25% more public computers per resident.
Dakota County against the 122 systems of its size class
Dakota County, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 248,182 square feet in total, 0.55 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Eagan: Wescott Community Library at 54,108 square feet; the smallest is South St. Paul: Kaposia Library at 16,000. The longest hours, 62.1 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Valley: Galaxie Library | Branch | Apple Valley | 62.1 | 29,745 |
| Burnsville: Burnhaven Comm Library | Branch | Burnsville | – | 26,198 |
| Eagan: Wescott Community Library | Branch | Eagan | – | 54,108 |
| Farmington Community Library | Branch | Farmington | – | 16,040 |
| Hastings: Pleasant Hill Library | Branch | Hastings | – | 17,373 |
| Inver Grove Heights: Inver Glen Library | Branch | Inver Grove Heights | – | 16,362 |
| Lakeville: Heritage Library | Branch | Lakeville | – | 22,218 |
| Rosemount: Robert Trail Library | Branch | Rosemount | – | 22,246 |
| South St. Paul: Kaposia Library | Branch | South St. Paul | – | 16,000 |
| West St. Paul: Wentworth Comm Library | Branch | West St. Paul | 62.1 | 27,892 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Dakota County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,581,960
- Physical checkouts
- 4,220,251
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,613,906
- …of e-books
- 763,281
- …of e-audio
- 654,699
- Registered users
- 401,160
- Program sessions
- 2,401
- Program attendance
- 76,487
- Print volumes
- 628,715
- Audio items (physical)
- 40,191
- Video items (physical)
- 50,268
- Public computers
- 345
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 55,127
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 137.3
- Operating spending
- $17.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.5 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Dakota County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $17.3 million, or $38.57 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 132 profiled systems in Minnesota.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Dakota County since FY 2019
Visits were 4% above the FY 2019 count of 1.5 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 17% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Dakota County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 73% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 32 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. None of them matches this system's checkouts per resident.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish Library | Baton Rouge, LA | 453,022 | 3.88 | 3.16 | $100.46 |
| Dayton Metro Library | Dayton, OH | 452,238 | 4.40 | 6.51 | $83.51 |
| Osceola Library System | Kissimmee, FL | 450,989 | 1.52 | 1.79 | $18.18 |
| Department of Community Services | New Castle, DE | 449,061 | 2.83 | 4.97 | $45.96 |
| Seminole County Public Library System | Casselberry, FL | 445,870 | 2.64 | 3.01 | $19.63 |
| Toledo-Lucas County Public Library | Toledo, OH | 428,505 | 4.73 | 7.25 | $104.07 |
Nearest in size within Minnesota
- Great River Regional Library · St. Cloud · 515,855 residents
- Anoka County Library · Blaine · 349,759 residents
- Saint Paul Public Library · Saint Paul · 310,997 residents
- Washington County Library · Woodbury · 257,137 residents