librarysystems

Indianapolis Public Library

Indianapolis, IndianaMarion CountyLibrary districtLarge cityFiscal year January 2024 to December 2024

Indianapolis Public Library is a library district based in Indianapolis (Marion County), Indiana, serving a legal service area of 963,251 residents through 25 library buildings and two bookmobiles. Among the 235 profiled systems in Indiana, it leads on population served, total visits, physical checkouts and operating spending.

Against the median system of its size class, it records 48% more physical checkouts per resident and 31% more operating spending per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 500,000 to 999,999

Indianapolis against the 61 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class2.47Visitsper resident65th percentile5.73Checkoutsper resident70th percentile$62.55Spendingper resident65th percentile1.61Print volumesper resident71st percentile160Program visitsper 1,000 people39th percentile6.3Computersper 10,000 people50th percentile45.0Open hoursper outlet a week40th percentile4.5Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people60th percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident2.4765th pct.Checkouts per resident5.7370th pct.Spending per resident$62.5565th pct.Print volumes per resident1.6171st pct.Program visits per 1,000 people16039th pct.Computers per 10,000 people6.350th pct.Open hours per outlet a week45.040th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people4.560th pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Indianapolis, building by building

The 25 buildings cover 675,800 square feet in total, 0.70 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Indianapolis Public Library at 299,300 square feet; the smallest is Infozone Branch Library at 4,400. The longest hours are at Glendale Branch Library, 60.9 a week.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Indianapolis Public LibraryCentral libraryIndianapolis54299,300
Beech Grove Branch LibraryBranchBeech Grove5133,000
College Avenue Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5116,000
Decatur Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5111,500
Eagle Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5520,700
East 38th Street Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5116,100
East Washington Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis519,500
Fort Ben BranchBranchIndianapolis5522,000
Franklin Road Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5117,600
Garfield Park Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis516,500
Glendale Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis60.924,800
Haughville Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5111,700
Infozone Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis51.84,400
Irvington Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5116,000
Lawrence Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5113,300
Martindale-Brightwood Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5114,700
Michigan Road Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5120,100
Nora Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis–17,900
Pike Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis–20,200
Southport Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5515,600
Spades Park Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis517,100
Warren Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5115,500
Wayne Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5113,300
West Indianapolis Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis515,000
West Perry Branch LibraryBranchIndianapolis5124,000
Bookmobile One (Frog)BookmobileIndianapolis11.5
Bookmobile Two (Toad)BookmobileIndianapolis14

A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.

Indianapolis in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
2,380,569
Physical checkouts
5,519,056
…of children's materials
2,782,544
Electronic checkouts
3,218,547
…of e-books
1,388,346
…of e-audio
1,464,346
Registered users
289,752
Program sessions
8,011
Program attendance
154,470
Print volumes
1,547,121
Audio items (physical)
87,925
Video items (physical)
195,025
Public computers
607
Public service hours, all outlets
63,200
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
430.4
Operating spending
$60.3 million
…on books and other materials
$7.1 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Indianapolis gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $59.5 million, or $61.74 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 235 profiled systems in Indiana.

This system83%All profiled systems in Indiana86%
This system83%All profiled systems in Indiana86%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Indianapolis since FY 2019

Visits were 31% below the FY 2019 count of 3.5 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 29% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Indianapolis programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 70% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 19 people each.

Children 0–11107,391Young adults 12–187,042Adults 19+20,549General interest19,488
Children 0–11107,391Young adults 12–187,042Adults 19+20,549General interest19,488

Library districts 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 Multnomah County Library in Oregon.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Saint Louis County LibrarySt. Louis, MO863,4074.088.33$70.90
Mid-Continent Public LibraryIndependence, MO840,2922.965.99$82.29
Sno-Isle LibrariesMarysville, WA819,5542.996.94$74.67
Multnomah County LibraryPortland, OR802,4642.1912.35$121.00
Pikes Peak Library DistrictColorado Springs, CO678,6842.815.34$48.53
Pierce County Library SystemTacoma, WA665,7602.153.86$65.13

Nearest in size within Indiana

All profiled systems in Indiana