Ferguson Library
Ferguson Library is a nonprofit public library system based in Stamford (Fairfield County), Connecticut, serving a legal service area of 136,226 residents through five library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 171 profiled systems in Connecticut, it ranks second for population served, second for total visits, second for operating spending and third for program attendance.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.3 times the operating spending per resident and 77% more program attendance per resident.
Ferguson against the 360 systems of its size class
Ferguson, building by building
The five buildings cover 143,200 square feet in total, 1.05 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Ferguson Library at 110,000 square feet; the smallest is West Side Branch at 1,200. The longest hours are at Ferguson Library, 56.9 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson Library | Central library | Stamford | 56.9 | 110,000 |
| Harry Bennett Library | Branch | Stamford | 46.5 | 24,000 |
| South End Community Center Branch Library | Branch | Stamford | 32.5 | 2,000 |
| Weed Memorial Branch Library | Branch | Stamford | 34.5 | 6,000 |
| West Side Branch | Branch | Stamford | 10.5 | 1,200 |
| Ferguson Library Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Stamford | 24.8 |
Ferguson in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 482,435
- Physical checkouts
- 462,054
- …of children's materials
- 255,315
- Electronic checkouts
- 150,417
- …of e-books
- 66,340
- …of e-audio
- 47,239
- Registered users
- 61,639
- Program sessions
- 1,922
- Program attendance
- 54,111
- Print volumes
- 249,308
- Audio items (physical)
- 7,487
- Video items (physical)
- 24,760
- Public computers
- 58
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 10,497
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 69.5
- Operating spending
- $10.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $841,362
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Ferguson gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $10.5 million, or $77.19 per resident. The local-government share sits 7 percentage points above the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in Connecticut.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Ferguson since FY 2019
Visits were 25% below the FY 2019 count of 643,077 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 18% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Ferguson programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 61% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 28 people each.
Nonprofit association 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 Massanutten Regional Library in Virginia.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massanutten Regional Library | Harrisonburg, VA | 162,560 | 1.46 | 4.78 | $17.74 |
| Allentown Public Library | Allentown, PA | 139,466 | 1.16 | 1.16 | $21.44 |
| Franklin County Library System-Admin Unit | Chambersburg, PA | 135,038 | 1.37 | 1.87 | $24.25 |
| Community Libraries of Providence | Providence, RI | 131,744 | 3.70 | 2.37 | $46.85 |
| Osterhout Free Library | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 120,502 | 0.60 | 0.84 | $21.32 |
| Bethlehem Area Public Library | Bethlehem, PA | 118,264 | 1.50 | 2.84 | $25.67 |
Nearest in size within Connecticut
- New Haven Free Public Library · New Haven · 135,319 residents
- Bridgeport Public Library · Bridgeport · 148,028 residents
- Silas Bronson Library · Waterbury · 114,990 residents
- Danbury Public Library · Danbury · 86,124 residents