Louisville Free Public Library
Louisville Free Public Library is a county public library system based in Louisville (Jefferson County), Kentucky, serving a legal service area of 772,144 residents through 17 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 120 profiled systems in Kentucky, it leads on population served, total visits, operating spending and number of library buildings.
Among the 54 profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks tenth for weekly open hours per outlet. Against the median system of its size class, it records 35% less operating spending per resident and 53% more public computers per resident.
Louisville against the 61 systems of its size class
Louisville, building by building
The 17 buildings cover 411,291 square feet in total, 0.53 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Louisville Free Public Library at 167,031 square feet; the smallest is Shively at 3,283. The longest hours, 68 a week, are shared by five buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Free Public Library | Central library | Louisville | 68 | 167,031 |
| Bon Air | Branch | Louisville | 68 | 17,888 |
| Crescent Hill | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 10,180 |
| Fairdale | Branch | Fairdale | 48 | 7,560 |
| Highlands-Shelby Park | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 11,275 |
| Iroquois | Branch | Louisville | 62 | 15,042 |
| Jeffersontown | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 10,989 |
| Middletown | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 5,778 |
| Newburg | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 8,215 |
| Northeast Regional | Branch | Louisville | 68 | 35,511 |
| Portland | Branch | Louisville | 48 | 5,960 |
| Shawnee | Branch | Louisville | 62 | 10,024 |
| Shively | Branch | Louisville | 58 | 3,283 |
| South Central Regional | Branch | Louisville | 68 | 38,191 |
| Southwest Regional | Branch | Louisville | 68 | 39,258 |
| St. Matthews | Branch | Louisville | 62 | 18,890 |
| Western | Branch | Louisville | 48 | 6,216 |
| Louisville Free Public Library | Bookmobile | Louisville | 37 |
Louisville in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,766,135
- Physical checkouts
- 2,219,760
- …of children's materials
- 1,070,830
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,605,856
- …of e-books
- 787,041
- …of e-audio
- 636,281
- Registered users
- 206,028
- Program sessions
- 9,708
- Program attendance
- 181,318
- Print volumes
- 1,097,075
- Audio items (physical)
- 84,205
- Video items (physical)
- 54,589
- Public computers
- 743
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 52,988
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 281.0
- Operating spending
- $24.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $3 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Louisville gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $26.4 million, or $34.25 per resident. The local-government share sits 5 percentage points above 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)
Louisville since FY 2019
Visits were 24% below the FY 2019 count of 2.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 25% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Louisville programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 67% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 19 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, two record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library | Cincinnati, OH | 830,639 | 4.93 | 15.34 | $87.83 |
| Metropolitan Library System | Oklahoma City, OK | 808,866 | 2.31 | 6.45 | $59.93 |
| Cobb County Public Library System | Marietta, GA | 783,536 | 1.80 | 2.30 | $24.43 |
| Lee County Library System | Fort Myers, FL | 779,221 | 1.83 | 3.48 | $47.86 |
| Dekalb County Public Library | Decatur, GA | 768,134 | 2.08 | 2.44 | $38.11 |
| Montgomery County Memorial Library System | Conroe, TX | 705,126 | 1.12 | 3.44 | $16.91 |
Nearest in size within Kentucky
- Lexington Public Library · Lexington · 320,154 residents
- 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