Jackson/Hinds Library System
Jackson/Hinds Library System is a city-county public library system based in Jackson (Hinds County), Mississippi, serving a legal service area of 214,870 residents through 14 library buildings. Among profiled systems in Mississippi, it ranks second for the electronic share of checkouts, third for population served, third for operating spending and third for print volumes.
Among the 322 profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it records the eighth-steepest decline in visits since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 16% of the physical checkouts per resident and only 46% of the visits per resident.
Jackson/Hinds against the 360 systems of its size class
Jackson/Hinds since FY 2019
Visits were 61% below the FY 2019 count of 510,056 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 51% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Jackson/Hinds programs
Programs for a general audience drew 44% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 19 people each.
Jackson/Hinds in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 200,732
- Physical checkouts
- 105,611
- …of children's materials
- 58,227
- Electronic checkouts
- 67,854
- …of e-books
- 9,534
- …of e-audio
- 58,227
- Registered users
- 37,796
- Program sessions
- 1,799
- Program attendance
- 34,172
- Print volumes
- 314,768
- Audio items (physical)
- 9,892
- Video items (physical)
- 17,091
- Public computers
- 146
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 21,524
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 50.7
- Operating spending
- $4 million
- …on books and other materials
- $190,270
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Jackson/Hinds gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $4.8 million, or $22.53 per resident. The local-government share sits 7 percentage points below the combined share for the 53 profiled systems in Mississippi.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Jackson/Hinds, building by building
The 13 buildings cover 96,099 square feet in total, 0.45 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Quisenberry Library at 26,094 square feet; the smallest is Fannie Lou Hamer Library at 1,568. The longest hours are at Medgar Evers Library, 47.4 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Thompson Jeffers Library | Branch | Bolton | 28.9 | 1,679 |
| Beverly J. Brown Library | Branch | Byram | 35.1 | 3,500 |
| Ella Bess Austin Library | Branch | Terry | 34.5 | 4,017 |
| Evelyn Taylor Majure Library | Branch | Utica | 34.4 | 3,000 |
| Fannie Lou Hamer Library | Branch | Jackson | 29.7 | 1,568 |
| Lois A. Flagg Library | Branch | Edwards | 26.4 | 3,022 |
| Margaret Walker Alexander Library | Branch | Jackson | 46.9 | 10,911 |
| Medgar Evers Library | Branch | Jackson | 47.4 | 11,884 |
| Quisenberry Library | Branch | Clinton | 46.5 | 26,094 |
| R.g. Bolden/Anna Bell-Moore Library | Branch | Jackson | 34.1 | 4,180 |
| Raymond Public Library | Branch | Raymond | 35.7 | 4,044 |
| Richard Wright Library | Branch | Jackson | – | 10,200 |
| Willie Morris Library | Branch | Jackson | 45.4 | 12,000 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
City-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 San Luis Obispo City-County Library in California.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siouxland Libraries | Sioux Falls, SD | 255,913 | 3.35 | 5.95 | $43.13 |
| San Luis Obispo City-County Library | San Luis Obispo, CA | 247,562 | 2.21 | 6.75 | $50.12 |
| Clarksville Montgomery County Public Library | Clarksville, TN | 239,872 | 0.99 | 1.88 | $12.07 |
| Santa Cruz Public Libraries | Santa Cruz, CA | 211,540 | 3.71 | 6.63 | $88.87 |
| Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library | Flagstaff, AZ | 149,875 | 3.35 | 2.80 | $34.06 |
| Napa County Library | Napa, CA | 129,715 | 2.43 | 5.14 | $80.63 |
Nearest in size within Mississippi
- Harrison County Library System · Gulfport · 210,612 residents
- Central Mississippi Regional Library · Brandon · 227,738 residents
- Jackson-George Regional Library System · Pascagoula · 172,008 residents
- First Regional Library · Hernando · 321,878 residents