Middle Georgia Regional Library System
Middle Georgia Regional Library System is a multi-jurisdictional public library system based in Macon (Bibb County), Georgia, serving a legal service area of 270,784 residents through 16 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 60 profiled systems in Georgia, it ranks ninth for operating spending.
By population served it is the 11th-largest of the 60 profiled systems in Georgia. Against the median system of its size class, it records 49% fewer physical checkouts per resident and 38% fewer visits per resident.
Middle Georgia Regional against the 122 systems of its size class
Middle Georgia Regional in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 374,566
- Physical checkouts
- 490,995
- …of children's materials
- 254,904
- Electronic checkouts
- 132,353
- …of e-books
- 41,801
- …of e-audio
- 63,905
- Registered users
- 127,502
- Program sessions
- 3,199
- Program attendance
- 41,954
- Print volumes
- 418,379
- Audio items (physical)
- 8,108
- Video items (physical)
- 15,112
- Public computers
- 235
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 83.3
- Operating spending
- $6.7 million
- …on books and other materials
- $427,648
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Middle Georgia Regional gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $7.1 million, or $26.33 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points below the combined share for the 60 profiled systems in Georgia.
- 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 Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in Kansas.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchigami Regional Library | Pine River, MN | 180,765 | 1.69 | 2.49 | $21.64 |
| Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library | Topeka, KS | 173,973 | 2.62 | 6.20 | $116.12 |
| Jackson-George Regional Library System | Pascagoula, MS | 172,008 | 1.82 | 2.10 | $26.82 |
| Northwestern Regional Library | Elkin, NC | 166,502 | 1.57 | 2.64 | $17.21 |
| Southeast Oklahoma Library System | McAlester, OK | 164,633 | 2.64 | 2.15 | $44.41 |
| Pioneerland Library System | Willmar, MN | 161,633 | 2.38 | 2.92 | $34.66 |
Who comes to Middle Georgia Regional programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 65% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 13 people each.
Nearest in size within Georgia
- Forsyth County Public Library · Cumming · 279,366 residents
- Henry County Library System · McDonough · 257,669 residents
- Athens Regional Library System · Athens · 250,788 residents
- Flint River Regional Library System · Griffin · 295,143 residents
Middle Georgia Regional, building by building
The largest building is Washington Memorial Library at 50,000 square feet; the smallest is Oglethorpe Public Library at 789. The longest hours are at Washington Memorial Library, 65.6 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Memorial Library | Central library | Macon | 65.6 | 50,000 |
| Bloomfield Library | Branch | Macon | 37.2 | – |
| Charles A. Lanford Branch Library | Branch | Macon | 46.3 | 15,618 |
| Crawford County Public Library | Branch | Roberta | 29.6 | 5,382 |
| East Wilkinson County Public Library | Branch | Irwinton | 38 | 3,305 |
| Gordon Public Library | Branch | Gordon | 31.9 | 3,385 |
| Hancock Branch | Branch | Milledgeville | 29.7 | 7,328 |
| Jones County Public Library | Branch | Gray | 49.2 | 7,816 |
| Lake Sinclair Library | Branch | Milledgeville | 29.6 | 2,500 |
| Marshallville Public Library | Branch | Marshallville | 28.3 | 1,616 |
| Mary Vinson Memorial Library | Branch | Milledgeville | 47.4 | 18,097 |
| Montezuma Public Library | Branch | Montezuma | 32.4 | 6,129 |
| Oglethorpe Public Library | Branch | Oglethorpe | 36.5 | 789 |
| Riverside Branch Library | Branch | Macon | 46.2 | 8,000 |
| Shurling Branch Library | Branch | Macon | 46.3 | 8,180 |
| Twiggs County Public Library | Branch | Jeffersonville | 35.5 | 6,700 |
| Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Macon | – |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.