Jefferson County Public Library
Jefferson County Public Library is a county public library system based in Lakewood (Jefferson County), Colorado, serving a legal service area of 576,381 residents through 11 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 101 profiled systems in Colorado, it ranks first for physical checkouts, first for program attendance, second for total visits and second for operating spending.
Among profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks fourth for physical checkouts per resident and sixth for weekly open hours per outlet and records the sixth-smallest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.1 times the program attendance per resident and 62% more operating spending per resident.
Jefferson County against the 61 systems of its size class
Jefferson County since FY 2019
Visits were 25% below the FY 2019 count of 2.6 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 6% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Jefferson County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 74% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 28 people each.
Jefferson County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,951,596
- Physical checkouts
- 6,467,737
- …of children's materials
- 3,093,681
- Electronic checkouts
- 2,303,168
- …of e-books
- 1,215,938
- …of e-audio
- 772,940
- Registered users
- 301,245
- Program sessions
- 7,971
- Program attendance
- 224,621
- Print volumes
- 756,772
- Audio items (physical)
- 53,699
- Video items (physical)
- 127,496
- Public computers
- 434
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 37,739
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 338.2
- Operating spending
- $44.8 million
- …on books and other materials
- $7.8 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Jefferson County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $64 million, or $111.09 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 101 profiled systems in Colorado.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Jefferson County, building by building
The 11 buildings cover 230,991 square feet in total, 0.40 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Lakewood Library at 34,207 square feet; the smallest is West Arvada Express Library at 1,584. The longest hours, 65 a week, are shared by nine buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arvada Library | Branch | Arvada | 65 | 34,172 |
| Belmar Library | Branch | Lakewood | 65 | 31,500 |
| Columbine Library | Branch | Littleton | 65 | 29,753 |
| Conifer Library | Branch | Conifer | 36 | 8,885 |
| Edgewater Library | Branch | Edgewater | 65 | 10,000 |
| Evergreen Library | Branch | Evergreen | 65 | 32,594 |
| Golden Library | Branch | Golden | 65 | 12,676 |
| Lakewood Library | Branch | Lakewood | 65 | 34,207 |
| Standley Lake Library | Branch | Arvada | 65 | 29,095 |
| West Arvada Express Library | Branch | Arvada | – | 1,584 |
| Wheat Ridge Library | Branch | Wheat Ridge | 65 | 6,525 |
| Jefferson County Public Library Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Lakewood | 11 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
County 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 Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga County Public Library | Parma, OH | 626,288 | 6.26 | 11.75 | $119.50 |
| Volusia County Public Library | Daytona Beach, FL | 592,852 | 2.09 | 3.00 | $36.71 |
| Anne Arundel County Public Library | Annapolis, MD | 590,336 | 2.69 | 6.31 | $56.80 |
| Alameda County Library | Fremont, CA | 581,626 | 2.28 | 7.74 | $67.90 |
| Stanislaus County Free Library | Modesto, CA | 548,744 | 1.42 | 2.22 | $27.67 |
| Greenville County Library System | Greenville, SC | 525,534 | 2.47 | 5.56 | $41.58 |
Nearest in size within Colorado
- Pikes Peak Library District · Colorado Springs · 678,684 residents
- Denver Public Library · Denver · 715,636 residents
- Rangeview Library District · Thornton · 406,718 residents
- Aurora Public Library · Aurora · 394,380 residents