Hayward Public Library
Hayward Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Hayward (Alameda County), California, serving a legal service area of 159,770 residents through two library buildings and one bookmobile. Among profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it records the largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019 and the second-largest gain in visits since FY 2019.
By population served it is the 46th-largest of the 170 profiled systems in California. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.0 times the program attendance per resident and 37% fewer print volumes per resident.
Hayward against the 360 systems of its size class
Hayward since FY 2019
Visits were 120% above the FY 2019 count of 165,372 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 132% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Hayward programs
Programs for a general audience drew 44% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 14 people each.
Hayward in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 363,855
- Physical checkouts
- 339,799
- …of children's materials
- 220,729
- Electronic checkouts
- 117,281
- …of e-books
- 33,871
- …of e-audio
- 44,822
- Registered users
- 167,787
- Program sessions
- 5,316
- Program attendance
- 73,232
- Print volumes
- 138,266
- Audio items (physical)
- 7,998
- Video items (physical)
- 20,026
- Public computers
- 64
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 4,306
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 42.2
- Operating spending
- $8.4 million
- …on books and other materials
- $393,927
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Hayward gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $8.4 million, or $52.47 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in California. Federal money made up 1.6% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Hayward, building by building
The two buildings cover 66,567 square feet in total, 0.42 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Hayward Public Library at 58,000 square feet; the smallest is Weekes Branch Library at 8,567. The longest hours, 48 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayward Public Library | Central library | Hayward | 48 | 58,000 |
| Weekes Branch Library | Branch | Hayward | 48 | 8,567 |
| Hayward Public Library Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Hayward | 11.4 |
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, two record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Denton Public Library in Texas.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson Free Public Library | Paterson, NJ | 159,732 | 0.70 | 0.23 | $26.82 |
| Killeen Public Library | Killeen, TX | 159,643 | 1.14 | 0.42 | $12.07 |
| Alexandria Library | Alexandria, VA | 158,675 | 3.31 | 5.17 | $60.02 |
| Denton Public Library | Denton, TX | 158,349 | 3.04 | 5.51 | $43.76 |
| Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library | Edinburg, TX | 158,163 | 0.96 | 0.89 | $21.94 |
| Kansas City, Kansas Public Library | Kansas City, KS | 157,667 | 2.03 | 3.29 | $63.45 |
Nearest in size within California
- Madera County Library · Madera · 159,328 residents
- Santa Maria Public Library · Santa Maria · 158,856 residents
- Yolo County Library · Woodland · 160,994 residents
- Sunnyvale Public Library · Sunnyvale · 157,566 residents