Monmouth County Library
Monmouth County Library is a county public library system based in Manalapan (Monmouth County), New Jersey, serving a legal service area of 425,110 residents through 13 library buildings. Among profiled systems in New Jersey, it ranks first for print volumes, second for number of library buildings, second for electronic checkouts and third for population served.
Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks fourth for print volumes per resident and eighth for local government's share of operating revenue, but records the seventh-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 49% fewer public computers per resident and 15% fewer visits per resident.
Monmouth County against the 122 systems of its size class
Monmouth County, building by building
The 13 buildings cover 257,253 square feet in total, 0.61 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Monmouth County Library at 97,403 square feet; the smallest is Oceanport Library at 1,200. The longest hours, 66.3 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth County Library | Central library | Manalapan Twp. | 66.3 | 97,403 |
| Allentown Branch Library | Branch | Allentown | 44 | 5,700 |
| Atlantic Highlands Public Library | Branch | Atlantic Highland | 37.7 | 4,000 |
| Colts Neck Branch Library | Branch | Colts Neck | 43.3 | 6,800 |
| Eastern Branch Library | Branch | Shrewsbury | 66.3 | 45,000 |
| Hazlet Memorial Libray | Branch | Hazlet | 43.3 | 10,200 |
| Holmdel Public Library | Branch | Holmdel | 56.3 | 13,450 |
| Howell Public Library | Branch | Howell | 57.3 | 13,700 |
| Marlboro Library | Branch | Marlboro | 56.3 | 18,100 |
| Ocean Township Public Library | Branch | Oakhurst | 58.3 | 19,200 |
| Oceanport Library | Branch | Oceanport | 25 | 1,200 |
| Wall Public Library | Branch | Sea Girt | 58.3 | 18,100 |
| West Long Branch Public. Library | Branch | W. Long Branch | 49.3 | 4,400 |
Monmouth County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 802,601
- Physical checkouts
- 1,470,624
- …of children's materials
- 575,256
- Electronic checkouts
- 828,797
- …of e-books
- 407,582
- …of e-audio
- 261,203
- Registered users
- 105,663
- Program sessions
- 4,091
- Program attendance
- 82,299
- Print volumes
- 1,591,969
- Audio items (physical)
- 56,137
- Video items (physical)
- 118,572
- Public computers
- 134
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 34,414
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 118.0
- Operating spending
- $16.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.8 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Monmouth County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $16.1 million, or $37.86 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points above the combined share for the 262 profiled systems in New Jersey. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Monmouth County since FY 2019
Visits were 40% below the FY 2019 count of 1.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 45% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Monmouth County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 75% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 20 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Loudoun County Public Library in Virginia.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo-Lucas County Public Library | Toledo, OH | 428,505 | 4.73 | 7.25 | $104.07 |
| Jefferson Parish Library | Metairie, LA | 427,253 | 2.74 | 1.81 | $59.02 |
| Loudoun County Public Library | Leesburg, VA | 425,204 | 4.03 | 8.66 | $57.12 |
| Richland County Public Library | Columbia, SC | 416,147 | 2.83 | 5.42 | $81.95 |
| Marion County Public Library System | Ocala, FL | 413,951 | 1.39 | 1.84 | $21.62 |
| Collier County Public Library | Naples, FL | 408,363 | 2.08 | 2.98 | $22.35 |
Nearest in size within New Jersey
- Burlington County Library · Westampton · 363,983 residents
- Morris County Library · Whippany · 509,285 residents
- Camden County Library · Voorhees · 324,221 residents
- Newark Public Library · Newark · 311,549 residents