Montgomery City-County Public Library
Montgomery City-County Public Library is a multi-jurisdictional public library system based in Montgomery, Alabama, serving a legal service area of 226,361 residents through 10 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 360 profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks second for public computers per resident.
Among profiled systems in Alabama, it ranks second for public computers, second for print volumes, third for electronic checkouts and fourth for population served. Against the median system of its size class, it records 46% fewer physical checkouts per resident and 54% more print volumes per resident.
Montgomery City-County against the 360 systems of its size class
Montgomery City-County, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 116,628 square feet in total, 0.52 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is Montgomery City-County Public Library-Juliette Hampton Mor at 52,000 square feet; the smallest is Montgomery City-County Public Library-Hampstead Branch at 3,400. The longest hours are at Montgomery City-County Public Library-Juliette Hampton Mor, 62 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Juliette Hampton Mor | Central library | Montgomery | 62 | 52,000 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Bertha P. Williams L | Branch | Montgomery | 45 | 5,228 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Coliseum Boulevard B | Branch | Montgomery | 49 | 7,600 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Governor`s Square Bra | Branch | Montgomery | 49 | 12,500 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Hampstead Branch | Branch | Montgomery | 45 | 3,400 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Pike Road Branch | Branch | Pike Road | 45 | 5,700 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Pintlala Branch | Branch | Hope Hull | 45 | 6,700 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Ramer Branch | Branch | Ramer | 45 | 4,500 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Rufus A. Lewis Regio | Branch | Montgomery | 55 | 9,500 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-el Lowder Regional Li | Branch | Montgomery | 55 | 9,500 |
| Montgomery City-County Public Library-Outreach and Extensi | Bookmobile | Montgomery | 45 |
Montgomery City-County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 368,393
- Physical checkouts
- 371,463
- …of children's materials
- 163,349
- Electronic checkouts
- 336,954
- …of e-books
- 151,631
- …of e-audio
- 134,781
- Registered users
- 144,746
- Program sessions
- 2,843
- Program attendance
- 35,693
- Print volumes
- 482,281
- Audio items (physical)
- 119,200
- Video items (physical)
- 24,282
- Public computers
- 473
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 28,080
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 76.0
- Operating spending
- $6.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $869,421
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Montgomery City-County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $6.5 million, or $28.88 per resident. The local-government share sits 6 percentage points above the combined share for the 213 profiled systems in Alabama.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Montgomery City-County since FY 2019
Visits were 13% below the FY 2019 count of 423,080 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 5% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Montgomery City-County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 53% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 13 people each.
Multi-jurisdictional libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Chattahoochee Valley Libraries in Georgia.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Oklahoma Library System | Muskogee, OK | 236,086 | 2.14 | 1.99 | $25.27 |
| Abbe Regional Library System | Aiken, SC | 228,365 | 0.83 | 1.33 | $6.23 |
| Central Mississippi Regional Library | Brandon, MS | 227,738 | 1.70 | 1.72 | $10.53 |
| Chattahoochee Valley Libraries | Columbus, GA | 223,782 | 2.17 | 3.31 | $38.22 |
| Northwest Regional Library System | Panama City, FL | 216,657 | 1.23 | 2.09 | $16.70 |
| Sandhill Regional Library System | Rockingham, NC | 216,654 | 0.90 | 1.60 | $16.10 |
Nearest in size within Alabama
- Tuscaloosa Public Library · Tuscaloosa · 236,780 residents
- Birmingham Public Library · Birmingham · 196,910 residents
- Horseshoe Bend Regional Library · Dadeville · 159,028 residents
- Mobile Public Library · Mobile · 371,984 residents