New Orleans Public Library
New Orleans Public Library is a city-county public library system based in New Orleans (Orleans Parish), Louisiana, serving a legal service area of 362,701 residents through 15 library buildings. Among the 67 profiled systems in Louisiana, it ranks second for electronic checkouts, third for population served, third for total visits and third for physical checkouts.
Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks fourth for the electronic share of checkouts, but records the ninth-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 49% less program attendance per resident and 81% more operating spending per resident.
New Orleans against the 122 systems of its size class
New Orleans since FY 2019
Visits were 30% below the FY 2019 count of 1.6 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 42% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to New Orleans programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 63% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 11 people each.
New Orleans in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,095,430
- Physical checkouts
- 1,046,928
- …of children's materials
- 429,463
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,185,660
- …of e-books
- 463,644
- …of e-audio
- 567,252
- Registered users
- 120,249
- Program sessions
- 3,294
- Program attendance
- 36,983
- Print volumes
- 472,695
- Audio items (physical)
- 19,449
- Video items (physical)
- 51,728
- Public computers
- 339
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 32,840
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 189.6
- Operating spending
- $23.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $3.4 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where New Orleans gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $23.9 million, or $65.95 per resident. The local-government share sits 7 percentage points above the combined share for the 67 profiled systems in Louisiana. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
New Orleans, building by building
The 15 buildings cover 287,757 square feet in total, 0.79 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is New Orleans Public Library at 146,902 square feet; the smallest is Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch at 900. The longest hours are at Nora Navra Branch, 52 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Public Library | Central library | New Orleans | 46 | 146,902 |
| Algiers Regional Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 28,158 |
| Alvar Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 3,086 |
| Central City Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 4,580 |
| Children`s Resource Center | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 2,150 |
| Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 900 |
| East New Orleans Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 27,325 |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 40 | 5,000 |
| Mid-City Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 9,259 |
| Milton H. Latter Memorial Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 12,000 |
| Nix Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 2,850 |
| Nora Navra Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 52 | 5,033 |
| Norman Mayer Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 18,061 |
| Robert E. Smith Branch | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 12,746 |
| Rosa Keller Branch (Broad) | Branch | New Orleans | 46 | 9,707 |
City-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 San Luis Obispo City-County Library in California.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County Library System | Tavares, FL | 432,796 | 2.50 | 3.25 | $25.02 |
| Siouxland Libraries | Sioux Falls, SD | 255,913 | 3.35 | 5.95 | $43.13 |
| San Luis Obispo City-County Library | San Luis Obispo, CA | 247,562 | 2.21 | 6.75 | $50.12 |
| Clarksville Montgomery County Public Library | Clarksville, TN | 239,872 | 0.99 | 1.88 | $12.07 |
| Jackson/Hinds Library System | Jackson, MS | 214,870 | 0.93 | 0.49 | $18.61 |
| Santa Cruz Public Libraries | Santa Cruz, CA | 211,540 | 3.71 | 6.63 | $88.87 |
Nearest in size within Louisiana
- Jefferson Parish Library · Metairie · 427,253 residents
- East Baton Rouge Parish Library · Baton Rouge · 453,022 residents
- St. Tammany Parish Library · Covington · 277,615 residents
- Lafayette Public Library · Lafayette · 254,241 residents