Lexington Public Library
Lexington Public Library is a county public library system based in Lexington (Fayette County), Kentucky, serving a legal service area of 320,154 residents through seven library buildings. Among the 120 profiled systems in Kentucky, it ranks first for physical checkouts, second for population served, second for total visits and second for operating spending.
Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks sixth for physical checkouts per resident and records the second-largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 72% more paid staff per resident and 51% more operating spending per resident.
Lexington against the 122 systems of its size class
Lexington since FY 2019
Visits were 41% below the FY 2019 count of 1.7 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 20% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Lexington programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 65% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 25 people each.
Lexington in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 998,698
- Physical checkouts
- 3,427,922
- …of children's materials
- 1,417,108
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,134,710
- …of e-books
- 599,723
- …of e-audio
- 509,412
- Registered users
- 151,153
- Program sessions
- 3,170
- Program attendance
- 80,126
- Print volumes
- 397,077
- Audio items (physical)
- 11,278
- Video items (physical)
- 41,201
- Public computers
- 209
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 20,852
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 172.5
- Operating spending
- $17.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $3 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Lexington gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $24.5 million, or $76.47 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points below the combined share for the 120 profiled systems in Kentucky. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Lexington, building by building
The seven buildings cover 246,436 square feet in total, 0.77 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Lexington Public Library at 110,400 square feet; the smallest is Village Branch at 5,200. The longest hours, 58 a week, are shared by six buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington Public Library | Central library | Lexington | 58 | 110,400 |
| Beaumont | Branch | Lexington | 58 | 19,750 |
| Eastside | Branch | Lexington | 58 | 33,168 |
| Marksbury Family Branch | Branch | Lexington | 53 | 28,500 |
| Northside | Branch | Lexington | 58 | 27,818 |
| Tates Creek | Branch | Lexington | 58 | 21,600 |
| Village Branch | Branch | Lexington | 58 | 5,200 |
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 Howard County Library System in Maryland.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County Library System | Ellicott City, MD | 334,529 | 4.70 | 12.51 | $89.12 |
| Durham County Library | Durham, NC | 334,350 | 1.50 | 6.70 | $41.93 |
| West Florida Public Libraries | Pensacola, FL | 334,119 | 1.17 | 2.03 | $23.55 |
| St. Johns County Public Library System | St. Augustine, FL | 331,327 | 2.25 | 3.65 | $28.69 |
| Spartanburg County Public Library System | Spartanburg, SC | 327,997 | 2.88 | 4.54 | $52.71 |
| Camden County Library | Voorhees, NJ | 324,221 | 1.45 | 1.73 | $33.51 |
Nearest in size within Kentucky
- Kenton County Public Library · Erlanger · 171,321 residents
- Warren County Public Library · Bowling Green · 142,229 residents
- Boone County Public Library District · Burlington · 140,496 residents
- Louisville Free Public Library · Louisville · 772,144 residents