Harrison Regional Library System
Harrison Regional Library System is a county public library system based in Columbiana (Shelby County), Alabama, serving a legal service area of 45,151 residents through three library buildings. Among profiled systems serving 25,000 to 49,999 residents, it records the second-largest gain in visits since FY 2019, but ranks last for visits per resident and third-lowest for physical checkouts per resident.
Among the 214 profiled systems in Alabama, it ranks second-lowest for weekly open hours per outlet. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 7% of the program attendance per resident and only 14% of the public computers per resident.
Harrison Regional against the 964 systems of its size class
Harrison Regional since FY 2019
Visits were 112% above the FY 2019 count of 612 (size-class median: −28%). Physical checkouts moved 45% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Harrison Regional programs
Programs for adults drew 80% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 12 people each.
Harrison Regional in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,300
- Physical checkouts
- 3,289
- …of children's materials
- 1,943
- Registered users
- 936
- Program sessions
- 90
- Program attendance
- 1,059
- Print volumes
- 25,188
- Audio items (physical)
- 832
- Video items (physical)
- 3,612
- Public computers
- 4
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 2,028
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 6.0
- Operating spending
- $375,538
- …on books and other materials
- $16,554
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Harrison Regional gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $601,034, or $13.31 per resident. The local-government share sits 53 percentage points below the combined share for the 213 profiled systems in Alabama. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Harrison Regional, building by building
The three buildings cover 8,182 square feet in total, 0.18 square feet per resident against a median of 0.74 for the size class. The largest building is Harrison Regional Library System at 6,997 square feet; the smallest is Westover Public Library at 225. The longest hours are at Harpersville Public Library, 30 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Regional Library System | Central library | Columbiana | – | 6,997 |
| Harpersville Public Library | Branch | Harpersville | 30 | 960 |
| Westover Public Library | Branch | Westover | 10.2 | 225 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
County libraries of similar size in other states
All six of these systems record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Calaveras County Library in California.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendry County Library System | Clewiston, FL | 45,413 | 1.19 | 1.10 | $18.09 |
| Washington Parish Library | Franklinton, LA | 45,090 | 1.39 | 1.11 | $26.93 |
| Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Public Library | Glasgow, KY | 45,008 | 1.10 | 1.49 | $17.67 |
| Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library | Madisonville, KY | 44,929 | 0.79 | 0.75 | $10.44 |
| Calaveras County Library | San Andreas, CA | 44,842 | 1.15 | 2.64 | $24.63 |
| St. Bernard Parish Library | Chalmette, LA | 44,783 | 0.29 | 0.54 | $15.58 |
Nearest in size within Alabama
- Oneonta Public Library · Oneonta · 45,011 residents
- Enterprise Public Library · Enterprise · 44,880 residents
- Chilton-Clanton Public Library · Clanton · 45,884 residents
- Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest · Vestavia Hills · 38,292 residents