librarysystems

Dekalb County Public Library

Decatur, GeorgiaDekalb CountyCounty libraryLarge suburbFiscal year July 2023 to June 2024

Dekalb County Public Library is a county public library system based in Decatur (Dekalb County), Georgia, serving a legal service area of 768,134 residents through 24 library buildings. Among the 60 profiled systems in Georgia, it ranks first for local government's share of operating revenue, second for operating spending, second for number of library buildings and second for electronic checkouts, but ranks last for public computers per resident.

By population served it is the fourth-largest of the 60 profiled systems in Georgia. Against the median system of its size class, it records 37% fewer physical checkouts per resident and 20% less operating spending per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 500,000 to 999,999

Dekalb County against the 61 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class2.08Visitsper resident42nd percentile2.44Checkoutsper resident27th percentile$38.11Spendingper resident42nd percentile1.03Print volumesper resident42nd percentile146Program visitsper 1,000 people34th percentile4.5Computersper 10,000 people35th percentile46.1Open hoursper outlet a week45th percentile3.9Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people42nd percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident2.0842nd pct.Checkouts per resident2.4427th pct.Spending per resident$38.1142nd pct.Print volumes per resident1.0342nd pct.Program visits per 1,000 people14634th pct.Computers per 10,000 people4.535th pct.Open hours per outlet a week46.145th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people3.942nd pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Dekalb County in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
1,598,009
Physical checkouts
1,874,534
…of children's materials
974,740
Electronic checkouts
1,537,855
…of e-books
868,353
…of e-audio
464,840
Registered users
169,981
Program sessions
4,644
Program attendance
112,069
Print volumes
790,361
Audio items (physical)
8,960
Video items (physical)
36,915
Public computers
342
Public service hours, all outlets
57,525
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
299.0
Operating spending
$29.3 million
…on books and other materials
$2.9 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Dekalb County gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $28.7 million, or $37.36 per resident. The local-government share sits 14 percentage points above the combined share for the 60 profiled systems in Georgia. No federal operating revenue was reported.

This system90%All profiled systems in Georgia76%18%
This system90%All profiled systems in Georgia76%18%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

County libraries of similar size in other states

Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Tulsa City-County Library SystemTulsa, OK682,8682.728.14$48.73
Brevard County Library SystemCocoa, FL653,5482.435.06$31.44
Ocean County LibraryToms River, NJ636,2022.425.05$73.32
Pasco County Public Library CooperativeHudson, FL634,7680.672.02$17.50
Cuyahoga County Public LibraryParma, OH626,2886.2611.75$119.50
Volusia County Public LibraryDaytona Beach, FL592,8522.093.00$36.71

Dekalb County since FY 2019

Visits were 31% below the FY 2019 count of 2.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 24% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 1005060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 1005060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Dekalb County programs

Programs for adults drew 58% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 24 people each.

Children 0–1132,736Young adults 12–182,186Adults 19+64,822General interest12,325
Children 0–1132,736Young adults 12–182,186Adults 19+64,822General interest12,325

Dekalb County, building by building

The 24 buildings cover 389,857 square feet in total, 0.51 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Decatur Library at 53,356 square feet; the smallest is Scottdale-Tobie Grant Branch at 2,000. The longest hours are at Decatur Library, 57.1 a week.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Decatur LibraryCentral libraryDecatur57.153,356
Brookhaven BranchBranchAtlanta45.96,800
Chamblee BranchBranchChamblee48.618,000
Clarkston BranchBranchClarkston47.210,000
County Line-Ellenwood LibraryBranchEllenwood48.912,000
Covington BranchBranchDecatur48.910,000
Doraville BranchBranchDoraville38.29,300
Dunwoody BranchBranchDunwoody48.921,400
Embry Hills BranchBranchChamblee45.98,000
Flat Shoals BranchBranchDecatur48.910,000
Gresham BranchBranchAtlanta45.75,000
Hairston Crossing BranchBranchStone Mountain48.818,000
Library Administrative CenterBranchDecatur–35,110
Lithonia-Davidson BranchBranchLithonia45.85,591
Northlake-Barbara Loar BranchBranchTucker48.915,000
Redan-Trotti BranchBranchLithonia48.921,500
Salem-Panola BranchBranchLithonia48.918,000
Scott Candler BranchBranchDecatur48.912,000
Scottdale-Tobie Grant BranchBranchScottdale47.92,000
Stone Mountain-Sue Kellogg BranchBranchStone Mountain48.99,300
Stonecrest BranchBranchLithonia48.925,000
Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams BranchBranchDecatur48.918,000
Tucker-Reid H. Cofer BranchBranchTucker48.925,000
Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown BranchBranchDecatur48.921,500

A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.

Nearest in size within Georgia

All profiled systems in Georgia