Palm Beach County Library System
Palm Beach County Library System is a county public library system based in West Palm Beach (Palm Beach County), Florida, serving a legal service area of 1,007,170 residents through 18 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 62 profiled systems in Florida, it ranks first for physical checkouts, third for total visits, fourth for operating spending and sixth for population served.
Of all 8,557 systems profiled nationwide, it ranks tenth for public computers. Among the 35 profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks second for public computers per resident, third for paid staff per resident, sixth for physical checkouts per resident and ninth for visits per resident.
Palm Beach County against the 35 systems of its size class
Palm Beach County since FY 2019
Visits were 33% below the FY 2019 count of 3.9 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 29% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Palm Beach County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 66% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 17 people each.
Palm Beach County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 2,599,600
- Physical checkouts
- 5,666,300
- Registered users
- 329,082
- Program sessions
- 11,867
- Program attendance
- 201,829
- Print volumes
- 1,333,799
- Audio items (physical)
- 68,292
- Video items (physical)
- 194,411
- Public computers
- 1,280
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 591.0
- Operating spending
- $58.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $8.8 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Palm Beach County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $88.4 million, or $87.75 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 62 profiled systems in Florida.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Palm Beach County, building by building
The 18 buildings cover 405,747 square feet in total, 0.40 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Palm Beach County Public Library System at 46,480 square feet; the smallest is Clarence E. Anthony Branch Library at 4,000. The longest hours, 1.3 a week, are shared by five buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach County Public Library System | Central library | West Palm Beach | 1.3 | 46,480 |
| Acreage Branch | Branch | Loxahatchee | 1.2 | 30,000 |
| Belle Glade Branch | Branch | Belle Glade | 1.2 | 17,000 |
| Clarence E. Anthony Branch Library | Branch | South Bay | 0.9 | 4,000 |
| Gardens Branch | Branch | Palm Beach Gardens | 1.3 | 40,000 |
| Glades Road Branch | Branch | Boca Raton | 1.2 | 24,000 |
| Greenacres Branch Library | Branch | Greenacres | 1.2 | 17,000 |
| Hagen Ranch Road Branch | Branch | Delray Beach | 1.3 | 34,000 |
| Jupiter Branch Library | Branch | Jupiter | 1.3 | 22,000 |
| Lantana Road Branch | Branch | Lake Worth | 1.2 | 29,000 |
| Library Annex | Branch | West Palm Beach | – | 29,164 |
| Loula V. York Memorial Library | Branch | Pahokee | 0.9 | 4,565 |
| Okeechobee Boulevard Branch | Branch | West Palm Beach | 1.2 | 17,000 |
| Royal Palm Beach Branch Library | Branch | Royal Palm Beach | 1.3 | 20,000 |
| Tequesta Branch Library | Branch | Tequesta | 1 | 4,000 |
| Wellington Branch Library | Branch | Wellington | 1.2 | 30,000 |
| West Boca Branch | Branch | Boca Raton | 1.2 | 20,000 |
| West Boynton Branch | Branch | Boynton Beach | 1.2 | 17,538 |
| Palm Beach County Public Library System Bookmobile | Bookmobile | West Palm Beach | 16.4 |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend County Libraries | Richmond, TX | 873,816 | 1.97 | 3.56 | $26.25 |
| Baltimore County Public Library | Towson, MD | 849,316 | 3.03 | 8.09 | $63.59 |
| 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 |
| Louisville Free Public Library | Louisville, KY | 772,144 | 2.29 | 2.87 | $31.25 |
Nearest in size within Florida
- Jacksonville Public Library · Jacksonville · 1,062,145 residents
- Pinellas Public Library Cooperative · Clearwater · 946,776 residents
- Polk County Library Cooperative · Bartow · 822,769 residents
- Lee County Library System · Fort Myers · 779,221 residents