Greensboro Public Library
Greensboro Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Greensboro (Guilford County), North Carolina, serving a legal service area of 435,509 residents through eight library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks second for weekly open hours per outlet, but records the sixth-steepest decline in visits since FY 2019.
Among the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina, it ranks third for population served, third for public computers, fourth for total visits and fifth for operating spending, but ranks third-lowest for print volumes per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records 35% less program attendance per resident and 29% less operating spending per resident.
Greensboro against the 122 systems of its size class
Greensboro, building by building
The eight buildings cover 177,988 square feet in total, 0.41 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Greensboro Public Library at 98,500 square feet; the smallest is Vance H. Chavis Lifelong Learning Center at 6,088. The longest hours are at Greensboro Public Library, 80 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greensboro Public Library | Central library | Greensboro | 80 | 98,500 |
| Blanche Benjamin Branch Library | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 8,400 |
| Glenn McNairy Branch Library | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 15,000 |
| Glenwood Branch | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 10,000 |
| Hemphill Branch Library | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 15,000 |
| Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 15,000 |
| McGirt-Horton Branch Library | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 10,000 |
| Vance H. Chavis Lifelong Learning Center | Branch | Greensboro | 68 | 6,088 |
Greensboro in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,089,974
- Physical checkouts
- 1,101,087
- …of children's materials
- 744,337
- Electronic checkouts
- 714,003
- …of e-books
- 372,393
- …of e-audio
- 317,707
- Registered users
- 198,427
- Program sessions
- 2,258
- Program attendance
- 56,796
- Print volumes
- 264,665
- Audio items (physical)
- 15,865
- Video items (physical)
- 46,741
- Public computers
- 259
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 28,912
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 103.6
- Operating spending
- $11.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.9 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Greensboro gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $11.5 million, or $26.42 per resident. The local-government share sits 8 percentage points above the combined share for the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Greensboro since FY 2019
Visits were 53% below the FY 2019 count of 2.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 13% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Greensboro programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 61% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 25 people each.
Municipal 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 Oakland Public Library in California.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach Public Library | Long Beach, CA | 458,813 | 1.43 | 1.64 | $41.43 |
| Virginia Beach Public Library | Virginia Beach, VA | 458,028 | 1.99 | 3.20 | $46.01 |
| Oakland Public Library | Oakland, CA | 449,189 | 3.02 | 4.75 | $105.99 |
| Arlington Public Library System | Arlington, TX | 398,431 | 1.87 | 3.01 | $25.83 |
| 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 |
Nearest in size within North Carolina
- Forsyth County Public Library · Winston-Salem · 392,839 residents
- Cumberland County Public Library · Fayetteville · 337,970 residents
- Durham County Library · Durham · 334,350 residents
- Buncombe County Public Libraries · Asheville · 277,047 residents