El Paso Public Library
El Paso Public Library is a municipal public library system based in El Paso, Texas, serving a legal service area of 678,958 residents through 15 library buildings and two bookmobiles. Among profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks third-lowest for operating spending per resident and seventh-lowest for visits per resident and records the fifth-steepest decline in visits since FY 2019.
Among the 503 profiled systems in Texas, it ranks sixth for number of library buildings, eighth for population served and ninth for operating spending. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 39% of the physical checkouts per resident and 40% fewer paid staff per resident.
El Paso against the 61 systems of its size class
El Paso in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 711,679
- Physical checkouts
- 1,016,380
- …of children's materials
- 517,422
- Electronic checkouts
- 343,519
- …of e-books
- 149,218
- …of e-audio
- 135,827
- Registered users
- 205,522
- Program sessions
- 5,929
- Program attendance
- 92,989
- Print volumes
- 704,713
- Audio items (physical)
- 29,547
- Video items (physical)
- 88,176
- Public computers
- 333
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 42,516
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 167.5
- Operating spending
- $10.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.3 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where El Paso gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $10.9 million, or $16.06 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 503 profiled systems in Texas.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
All six of these systems record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Lincoln City Libraries in Nebraska.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita Public Library | Wichita, KS | 396,119 | 1.63 | 2.61 | $31.14 |
| Aurora Public Library | Aurora, CO | 394,380 | 1.42 | 1.89 | $17.68 |
| Anaheim Public Library | Anaheim, CA | 340,160 | 1.78 | 2.40 | $46.94 |
| Rutherford County Library System | Murfreesboro, TN | 327,503 | 1.74 | 4.18 | $11.64 |
| Lincoln City Libraries | Lincoln, NE | 326,716 | 2.52 | 6.28 | $37.41 |
| Riverside Public Library | Riverside, CA | 316,690 | 1.44 | 2.20 | $25.58 |
El Paso since FY 2019
Visits were 51% below the FY 2019 count of 1.5 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 42% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to El Paso programs
Programs for a general audience drew 43% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 16 people each.
El Paso, building by building
The 15 buildings cover 292,459 square feet in total, 0.43 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is El Paso Public Library at 101,000 square feet; the smallest is Enrique Moreno Library at 3,638. The longest hours are at Jenna Welch & Laura Bush Community Library, 56.8 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso Public Library | Central library | El Paso | 52.3 | 101,000 |
| Armijo Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 12,352 |
| Chamizal Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 56.3 | 3,807 |
| Clardy Fox Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 17,232 |
| Dorris Van Doren Regional Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 24,000 |
| Enrique Moreno Library | Branch | El Paso | 56.3 | 3,638 |
| Esperanza Acosta Moreno Regional Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 24,665 |
| Irving Schwartz Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 15,000 |
| Jenna Welch & Laura Bush Community Library | Branch | El Paso | 56.8 | 10,358 |
| Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 9,200 |
| Judge Edward S Marquez Mission Valley Branch | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 15,000 |
| Memorial Park Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 10,100 |
| Richard Burges Regional Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 22,500 |
| Sergio Troncoso Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 15,500 |
| Westside Branch Library | Branch | El Paso | 52.3 | 8,107 |
| Bookmobile-el Paso Public Library | Bookmobile | El Paso | 20.6 | |
| Kidsmobile | Bookmobile | El Paso | 3.8 |
Nearest in size within Texas
- Montgomery County Memorial Library System · Conroe · 705,126 residents
- Fort Bend County Libraries · Richmond · 873,816 residents
- Austin Public Library · Austin · 979,882 residents
- Brazoria County Library System · Angleton · 398,938 residents