Fort Bend County Libraries
Fort Bend County Libraries is a county public library system based in Richmond (Fort Bend County), Texas, serving a legal service area of 873,816 residents through 13 library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks second for local government's share of operating revenue, but ranks second-lowest for the electronic share of checkouts.
Among the 503 profiled systems in Texas, it ranks sixth for population served, sixth for total visits, sixth for physical checkouts and sixth for operating spending. Against the median system of its size class, it records 45% less operating spending per resident and 22% fewer print volumes per resident.
Fort Bend County against the 61 systems of its size class
Fort Bend County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,722,136
- Physical checkouts
- 3,111,149
- …of children's materials
- 2,321,150
- Electronic checkouts
- 463,569
- …of e-books
- 218,540
- …of e-audio
- 221,073
- Registered users
- 330,641
- Program sessions
- 4,045
- Program attendance
- 124,836
- Print volumes
- 839,360
- Audio items (physical)
- 51,856
- Video items (physical)
- 65,540
- Public computers
- 449
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 30,053
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 281.2
- Operating spending
- $22.9 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.6 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Fort Bend County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $23.8 million, or $27.23 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points above the combined share for the 503 profiled systems in Texas.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo and Erie County Public Library | Buffalo, NY | 954,236 | 0.73 | 1.06 | $34.33 |
| Salt Lake County Library | West Jordan, UT | 926,667 | 3.04 | 9.72 | $55.74 |
| Kern County Library | Bakersfield, CA | 888,074 | 0.79 | 0.85 | $11.75 |
| Baltimore County Public Library | Towson, MD | 849,316 | 3.03 | 8.09 | $63.59 |
| Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library | Cincinnati, OH | 830,639 | 4.93 | 15.34 | $87.83 |
| Metropolitan Library System | Oklahoma City, OK | 808,866 | 2.31 | 6.45 | $59.93 |
Who comes to Fort Bend County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 86% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 31 people each.
Nearest in size within Texas
- Austin Public Library · Austin · 979,882 residents
- Montgomery County Memorial Library System · Conroe · 705,126 residents
- El Paso Public Library · El Paso · 678,958 residents
- Dallas Public Library · Dallas · 1,302,868 residents
Fort Bend County, building by building
The 13 buildings cover 387,776 square feet in total, 0.44 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Fort Bend County Libraries at 77,000 square feet; the smallest is Fort Bend County Law Library at 1,535. The longest hours, 51.8 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend County Libraries | Central library | Richmond | 51.8 | 77,000 |
| Albert George Branch Library | Branch | Needville | 38.8 | 6,280 |
| Cinco Ranch Branch Library | Branch | Katy | 45.4 | 33,500 |
| First Colony Branch Library | Branch | Sugar Land | 45.3 | 19,400 |
| Fort Bend County Law Library | Branch | Richmond | 42.5 | 1,535 |
| Fulshear Branch Library | Branch | Fulshear | 45.1 | 10,500 |
| George Memorial Library | Branch | Richmond | 51.8 | 77,000 |
| Mamie George Branch Library | Branch | Stafford | 39 | 4,800 |
| Mission Bend Branch Library | Branch | Houston | 45.3 | 23,779 |
| Missouri City Branch Library | Branch | Missouri City | 45.5 | 27,500 |
| Sienna Branch Library | Branch | Missouri City | 48.7 | 44,989 |
| Sugar Land Branch Library | Branch | Sugar Land | 45.5 | 21,300 |
| University Branch Library | Branch | Sugar Land | 48.8 | 40,193 |