Live Oak Public Libraries
Live Oak Public Libraries is a multi-jurisdictional public library system based in Savannah (Chatham County), Georgia, serving a legal service area of 450,821 residents through 16 library buildings. Among the 60 profiled systems in Georgia, it ranks fifth for operating spending, sixth for population served, seventh for total visits and ninth for physical checkouts.
Against the median system of its size class, it records only 49% of the physical checkouts per resident and 36% fewer visits per resident.
Live Oak against the 122 systems of its size class
Live Oak in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 635,982
- Physical checkouts
- 776,644
- …of children's materials
- 377,361
- Electronic checkouts
- 240,963
- …of e-books
- 75,884
- …of e-audio
- 120,974
- Registered users
- 150,758
- Program sessions
- 4,539
- Program attendance
- 90,156
- Print volumes
- 416,778
- Audio items (physical)
- 24,199
- Video items (physical)
- 55,776
- Public computers
- 395
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 33,362
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 109.8
- Operating spending
- $11.7 million
- …on books and other materials
- $606,772
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Live Oak gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $12.1 million, or $26.94 per resident. The local-government share sits 10 percentage points above the combined share for the 60 profiled systems in Georgia. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Multi-jurisdictional 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 Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Virginia.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAL Public Library Cooperative | Bronson, FL | 416,905 | 2.35 | 4.82 | $53.39 |
| Huntsville-Madison County Public Library | Huntsville, AL | 403,565 | 3.25 | 6.29 | $20.26 |
| Mobile Public Library | Mobile, AL | 371,984 | 2.09 | 3.12 | $30.22 |
| Central Rappahannock Regional Library | Fredericksburg, VA | 347,033 | 3.20 | 6.58 | $38.94 |
| Central Arkansas Library System | Little Rock, AR | 344,553 | 3.53 | 3.46 | $79.19 |
| First Regional Library | Hernando, MS | 321,878 | 1.81 | 2.49 | $16.89 |
Live Oak since FY 2019
Visits were 42% below the FY 2019 count of 1.1 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 27% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Live Oak programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 73% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 20 people each.
Live Oak, building by building
The 16 buildings cover 236,365 square feet in total, 0.52 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Bull Street Library at 66,300 square feet; the smallest is West Broad Library at 990. The longest hours are at Tybee Library, 43.3 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bull Street Library | Central library | Savannah | 30.8 | 66,300 |
| Carnegie Library | Branch | Savannah | 40.3 | 7,059 |
| Forest City Library | Branch | Savannah | 40.8 | 6,800 |
| Garden City Library | Branch | Garden City | 42.7 | 16,000 |
| Hinesville Library | Branch | Hinesville | 42.3 | 21,508 |
| Islands Library | Branch | Savannah | 43.2 | 16,000 |
| Midway-Riceboro Library | Branch | Midway | 42.7 | 4,992 |
| Oglethorpe Mall Library | Branch | Savannah | 40.8 | 15,000 |
| Pooler Library | Branch | Pooler | 41.7 | 6,800 |
| Port City Library | Branch | Savannah | 40.3 | 5,860 |
| Rincon Library | Branch | Rincon | 43.1 | 6,216 |
| Southwest Chatham Library | Branch | Savannah | 39.2 | 49,590 |
| Springfield Library | Branch | Springfield | 42.7 | 8,250 |
| Tybee Library | Branch | Tybee Island | 43.3 | 4,000 |
| W. W. Law Library | Branch | Savannah | 38.5 | 1,000 |
| West Broad Library | Branch | Savannah | 29.2 | 990 |
Nearest in size within Georgia
- West Georgia Regional Library · Carrollton · 510,050 residents
- Sequoyah Regional Library System · Canton · 361,084 residents
- Clayton County Library System · Jonesboro · 302,512 residents
- Flint River Regional Library System · Griffin · 295,143 residents