Juneau Public Libraries
Juneau Public Libraries is a county public library system based in Juneau, Alaska, serving a legal service area of 31,549 residents through three library buildings. Among the 42 profiled systems in Alaska, it ranks second for total visits, third for operating spending, third for number of library buildings and third for public computers.
By population served it is the fourth-largest of the 42 profiled systems in Alaska. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.4 times the operating spending per resident and 96% more visits per resident.
Juneau against the 964 systems of its size class
Juneau since FY 2019
Visits were 14% below the FY 2019 count of 202,143 (size-class median: −28%). Physical checkouts moved 1% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Juneau programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 47% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 30 people each.
Juneau in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 173,619
- Physical checkouts
- 177,894
- …of children's materials
- 86,184
- Electronic checkouts
- 78,572
- …of e-books
- 27,657
- …of e-audio
- 32,984
- Registered users
- 15,801
- Program sessions
- 355
- Program attendance
- 10,677
- Print volumes
- 114,239
- Audio items (physical)
- 6,732
- Video items (physical)
- 7,387
- Public computers
- 37
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 7,222
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 28.2
- Operating spending
- $3.2 million
- …on books and other materials
- $191,040
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Juneau gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $3.8 million, or $121.60 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points below the combined share for the 42 profiled systems in Alaska. Federal money made up 6.4% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Juneau, building by building
The three buildings cover 45,000 square feet in total, 1.43 square feet per resident against a median of 0.74 for the size class. The largest building is Mendenhall Valley Public Library at 20,000 square feet; the smallest is Douglas Public Library at 8,000. The longest hours are at Mendenhall Valley Public Library, 53.1 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Public Library | Central library | Juneau | 52.9 | 17,000 |
| Douglas Public Library | Branch | Douglas | 36.5 | 8,000 |
| Mendenhall Valley Public Library | Branch | Juneau | 53.1 | 20,000 |
County libraries of similar size in other states
None of these six systems records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Williams Co Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evangeline Parish Library | Ville Platte, LA | 31,745 | 1.52 | 1.05 | $55.82 |
| Tiffin-Seneca Public Library | Tiffin, OH | 31,634 | 3.18 | 7.11 | $60.45 |
| Caroline County Library | Milford, VA | 31,552 | 0.79 | 0.75 | $23.91 |
| Williams Co Public Library | Bryan, OH | 31,533 | 4.12 | 8.51 | $84.28 |
| Amherst County Public Library | Amherst, VA | 31,491 | 2.05 | 4.49 | $35.38 |
| Logan County District Library | Bellefontaine, OH | 31,399 | 2.07 | 6.80 | $53.03 |
Nearest in size within Alaska
- Palmer Public Library · Palmer · 26,978 residents
- Wasilla Public Library · Wasilla · 51,796 residents
- Ketchikan Public Library · Ketchikan · 13,475 residents
- Talkeetna Public Library · Talkeetna · 12,918 residents