Glendale Public Library
Glendale Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Glendale (Maricopa County), Arizona, serving a legal service area of 260,878 residents through four library buildings. Among the 59 profiled systems in Arizona, it ranks seventh for population served, seventh for operating spending, eighth for total visits and eighth for physical checkouts.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 30% fewer paid staff per resident and 21% fewer public computers per resident.
Glendale against the 122 systems of its size class
Glendale, building by building
The four buildings cover 108,045 square feet in total, 0.41 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Glendale Main Library at 64,166 square feet; the smallest is Heroes Regional Park Library at 7,515. The longest hours, 48.4 a week, are shared by three buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glendale Main Library | Central library | Glendale | 48.4 | 64,166 |
| Foothills Branch Library | Branch | Glendale | 46 | 20,400 |
| Heroes Regional Park Library | Branch | Glendale | 48.4 | 7,515 |
| Velma Teague Branch Library | Branch | Glendale | 48.4 | 15,964 |
Glendale in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 465,476
- Physical checkouts
- 980,028
- …of children's materials
- 471,536
- Electronic checkouts
- 304,084
- …of e-books
- 136,337
- …of e-audio
- 131,008
- Registered users
- 117,060
- Program sessions
- 2,820
- Program attendance
- 45,695
- Print volumes
- 321,600
- Audio items (physical)
- 16,415
- Video items (physical)
- 51,118
- Public computers
- 127
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 9,943
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 57.5
- Operating spending
- $7.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $849,207
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Glendale gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $7.7 million, or $29.47 per resident. The local-government share sits 5 percentage points above the combined share for the 53 profiled systems in Arizona.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Glendale since FY 2019
Visits were 15% below the FY 2019 count of 548,734 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 18% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Glendale programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 38% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 16 people each.
Municipal 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 Boise Public Library in Idaho.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Public Library | Brownsville, TX | 259,714 | 2.31 | 0.63 | $15.87 |
| Laredo Public Library | Laredo, TX | 257,602 | 1.17 | 0.82 | $18.74 |
| Irving Public Library | Irving, TX | 254,373 | 1.83 | 4.35 | $29.10 |
| Chesapeake Public Library | Chesapeake, VA | 250,256 | 2.64 | 3.77 | $49.47 |
| Boise Public Library | Boise, ID | 243,657 | 2.92 | 6.79 | $73.62 |
| Nicholson Memorial Library System | Garland, TX | 243,470 | 1.09 | 1.41 | $24.65 |
Nearest in size within Arizona
- Yavapai County Free Library District · Prescott · 251,768 residents
- Scottsdale Public Library · Scottsdale · 249,935 residents
- Chandler Public Library · Chandler · 286,342 residents
- Mohave County Library District · Kingman · 228,107 residents