Long Beach Public Library
Long Beach Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Long Beach (Los Angeles County), California, serving a legal service area of 458,813 residents through 12 library buildings. Among the 115 profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks ninth-lowest for weekly open hours per outlet.
By population served it is the 17th-largest of the 170 profiled systems in California. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 46% of the physical checkouts per resident and 35% fewer visits per resident.
Long Beach against the 122 systems of its size class
Long Beach, building by building
The 12 buildings cover 197,770 square feet in total, 0.43 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Billie Jean King Main Library at 94,650 square feet; the smallest is Brewitt Branch Library at 5,225. The longest hours are at Billie Jean King Main Library, 38 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billie Jean King Main Library | Central library | Long Beach | 38 | 94,650 |
| Alamitos Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 7,475 |
| Bach Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 7,000 |
| Bay Shore Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 6,900 |
| Bret Harte Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 6,500 |
| Brewitt Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 5,225 |
| Burnett Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 7,500 |
| Dana Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 6,800 |
| El Dorado Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 8,160 |
| Los Altos Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 6,750 |
| Mark Twain Branch Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 16,155 |
| Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library | Branch | Long Beach | 34 | 24,655 |
Long Beach in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 656,513
- Physical checkouts
- 753,599
- …of children's materials
- 262,577
- Electronic checkouts
- 336,699
- …of e-books
- 121,607
- …of e-audio
- 109,424
- Registered users
- 312,192
- Program sessions
- 2,626
- Program attendance
- 79,129
- Print volumes
- 643,807
- Audio items (physical)
- 18,832
- Video items (physical)
- 24,497
- Public computers
- 321
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 21,424
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 141.8
- Operating spending
- $19 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.7 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Long Beach gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $22.8 million, or $49.70 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points below the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in California. Federal money made up 3.3% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Long Beach since FY 2019
Visits were 23% below the FY 2019 count of 854,437 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 30% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Long Beach programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 55% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 30 people each.
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Lincoln City Libraries in Nebraska.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Public Library | Aurora, CO | 394,380 | 1.42 | 1.89 | $17.68 |
| Rutherford County Library System | Murfreesboro, TN | 327,503 | 1.74 | 4.18 | $11.64 |
| Lincoln City Libraries | Lincoln, NE | 326,716 | 2.52 | 6.28 | $37.41 |
| Corpus Christi Public Libraries | Corpus Christi, TX | 316,595 | 1.68 | 2.32 | $20.21 |
| Newark Public Library | Newark, NJ | 311,549 | 0.86 | 0.21 | $45.03 |
| Saint Paul Public Library | Saint Paul, MN | 310,997 | 4.09 | 5.86 | $72.47 |
Nearest in size within California
- Santa Clara County Library · Campbell · 456,355 residents
- Oakland Public Library · Oakland · 449,189 residents
- Sonoma County Library · Rohnert Park · 478,152 residents
- Solano County Library · Fairfield · 420,393 residents