Fulton County Library System
Fulton County Library System is a county public library system based in Atlanta (Fulton County), Georgia, serving a legal service area of 1,094,693 residents through 34 library buildings. Among the 60 profiled systems in Georgia, it leads on population served, total visits, operating spending and number of library buildings.
Of all 8,557 systems profiled nationwide, it ranks ninth for public computers. Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks fourth for public computers per resident and fifth for library floor space per resident and records the fourth-smallest decline in visits since FY 2019, but ranks fourth-lowest for operating spending per resident and records the seventh-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019.
Fulton County against the 35 systems of its size class
Fulton County, building by building
The 33 buildings cover 777,428 square feet in total, 0.71 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Central Library at 265,155 square feet; the smallest is Dr. Martin Luther King,jr Branch Library at 4,100. The longest hours are at Central Library, 52.5 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Library | Central library | Atlanta | 52.5 | 265,155 |
| Adams Park Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 7,500 |
| Adamsville-Collier Heights Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 10,000 |
| Alpharetta/Louie E. Jones & Gertrude C. Jones Memorial Library | Branch | Alpharetta | 52 | 25,000 |
| Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American History & | Branch | Atlanta | 51.8 | 56,573 |
| Buckhead Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.9 | 20,000 |
| College Park Branch Library | Branch | College Park | 52 | 7,500 |
| Dogwood Homes Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 6,000 |
| Dr. Martin Luther King,jr Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.5 | 4,100 |
| Dr. Robert E. Fulton Regional Library at Ocee | Branch | Alpharetta | 51.9 | 25,000 |
| East Atlanta Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.9 | 8,000 |
| East Point Branch Library | Branch | East Point | 51.8 | 10,000 |
| East Roswell Branch Library | Branch | Roswell | 52 | 15,000 |
| Evelyn G. Lowery Library at Cascade | Branch | Atlanta | 52.2 | 25,000 |
| Fairburn/Hobgood-Palmer Branch Library | Branch | Fairburn | 51.9 | 7,100 |
| Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton | Branch | Union City | 52 | 25,000 |
| Hapeville Branch Library | Branch | Hapeville | 52 | 5,000 |
| Kirkwood Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.8 | 7,500 |
| Louise Watley Library at Southeast | Branch | Atlanta | 51.8 | 15,000 |
| Mechanicsville Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.7 | 8,000 |
| Metropolitan Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.7 | 25,000 |
| Milton Branch Library | Branch | Milton | 52 | 25,000 |
| Northeast-Spruill Oaks Regional Library | Branch | Alpharetta | 52 | 25,000 |
| Northside Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 10,000 |
| Northwest Branch Library at Scotts Crossing | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 25,000 |
| Palmetto Branch Library | Branch | Palmetto | 52 | 10,000 |
| Peachtree Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 10,000 |
| Ponce de Leon Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 10,000 |
| Roswell Branch Library | Branch | Roswell | 52 | 20,000 |
| Sandy Springs Regional Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 25,000 |
| Washington Park/Annie L. McPheeters Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.7 | 7,500 |
| West End Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 51.9 | 7,500 |
| Wolf Creek Branch Library | Branch | Atlanta | 52 | 25,000 |
Fulton County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 2,334,688
- Physical checkouts
- 2,294,295
- …of children's materials
- 1,387,387
- Electronic checkouts
- 2,027,347
- …of e-books
- 631,713
- …of e-audio
- 953,586
- Registered users
- 961,785
- Program sessions
- 9,496
- Program attendance
- 189,999
- Print volumes
- 1,083,823
- Audio items (physical)
- 17,787
- Video items (physical)
- 58,796
- Public computers
- 1,288
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 80,699
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 294.2
- Operating spending
- $29.8 million
- …on books and other materials
- $3.7 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Fulton County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $30.3 million, or $27.70 per resident. The local-government share sits 14 percentage points above the combined share for the 60 profiled systems in Georgia.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Fulton County since FY 2019
Visits were 22% below the FY 2019 count of 3 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 38% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Fulton County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 47% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 20 people each.
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 Wake County Public Libraries in North Carolina.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County Public Libraries | Raleigh, NC | 1,194,900 | 2.55 | 7.46 | $29.66 |
| San Diego County Library | San Diego, CA | 1,111,527 | 2.50 | 5.26 | $61.63 |
| Montgomery County Public Libraries | Rockville, MD | 1,054,827 | 3.36 | 6.90 | $44.50 |
| Contra Costa County Library | Martinez, CA | 1,033,891 | 2.37 | 4.66 | $42.65 |
| Palm Beach County Library System | West Palm Beach, FL | 1,007,170 | 2.58 | 5.63 | $58.14 |
| Fresno County Public Library | Fresno, CA | 993,976 | 1.12 | 1.86 | $35.58 |
Nearest in size within Georgia
- Gwinnett County Public Library System · Lawrenceville · 992,705 residents
- Cobb County Public Library System · Marietta · 783,536 residents
- Dekalb County Public Library · Decatur · 768,134 residents
- West Georgia Regional Library · Carrollton · 510,050 residents