librarysystems

Phoenix Public Library

Phoenix, ArizonaMaricopa CountyMunicipal libraryLarge cityFiscal year July 2023 to June 2024

Phoenix Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Phoenix (Maricopa County), Arizona, serving a legal service area of 1,697,696 residents through 17 library buildings. Among profiled systems in Arizona, it leads on physical checkouts, operating spending, program attendance and print volumes.

Of all 6,239 systems profiled nationwide, it ranks tenth for electronic checkouts. Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks fifth for weekly open hours per outlet and tenth for local government's share of operating revenue, but ranks second-lowest for print volumes per resident and sixth-lowest for visits per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 1 million or more

Phoenix against the 35 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class1.25Visitsper resident16th percentile2.86Checkoutsper resident53rd percentile$30.31Spendingper resident24th percentile0.51Print volumesper resident4th percentile136Program visitsper 1,000 people31st percentile4.3Computersper 10,000 people24th percentile51.6Open hoursper outlet a week85th percentile2.6Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people24th percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident1.2516th pct.Checkouts per resident2.8653rd pct.Spending per resident$30.3124th pct.Print volumes per resident0.514th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people13631st pct.Computers per 10,000 people4.324th pct.Open hours per outlet a week51.685th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people2.624th pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Phoenix since FY 2019

Visits were 39% below the FY 2019 count of 3.5 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 35% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 1005060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 1005060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Phoenix programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 65% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 26 people each.

Children 0–11149,539Young adults 12–1819,278Adults 19+27,967General interest34,641
Children 0–11149,539Young adults 12–1819,278Adults 19+27,967General interest34,641

Phoenix in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
2,124,498
Physical checkouts
4,857,704
…of children's materials
2,183,208
Electronic checkouts
5,226,131
…of e-books
2,279,977
…of e-audio
2,310,398
Program sessions
8,970
Program attendance
231,425
Print volumes
873,843
Audio items (physical)
91,733
Video items (physical)
170,553
Public computers
733
Public service hours, all outlets
45,604
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
442.0
Operating spending
$51.4 million
…on books and other materials
$6.5 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Phoenix gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $51.5 million, or $30.33 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 53 profiled systems in Arizona. Federal money made up 1.9% of the total.

This system97%All profiled systems in Arizona94%
This system97%All profiled systems in Arizona94%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Phoenix, building by building

The 17 buildings cover 557,608 square feet in total, 0.33 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is Burton Barr Central Library at 280,000 square feet; the smallest is Century Library at 6,500. The longest hours are at South Mountain Community Library, 69 a week.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Burton Barr Central LibraryCentral libraryPhoenix58280,000
Acacia LibraryBranchPhoenix486,600
Agave LibraryBranchPhoenix5125,000
Century LibraryBranchPhoenix486,500
Cesar Chavez LibraryBranchPhoenix5125,000
Cholla LibraryBranchPhoenix5130,000
Desert Broom LibraryBranchPhoenix5115,000
Desert Sage LibraryBranchPhoenix4813,400
Harmon LibraryBranchPhoenix4812,400
Ironwood LibraryBranchPhoenix5116,300
Juniper LibraryBranchPhoenix5114,435
Mesquite LibraryBranchPhoenix5119,873
Ocotillo LibraryBranchPhoenix486,600
Palo Verde LibraryBranchPhoenix5116,000
Saguaro LibraryBranchPhoenix5110,500
South Mountain Community LibraryBranchPhoenix6950,000
Yucca LibraryBranchPhoenix5110,000

Municipal libraries of similar size in other states

Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Austin Public Library in Texas.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Chicago Public LibraryChicago, IL2,746,3881.773.86$46.01
Houston Public LibraryHouston, TX2,314,1570.921.41$21.39
San Antonio Public LibrarySan Antonio, TX1,868,0521.462.68$28.29
San Diego Public LibrarySan Diego, CA1,385,3793.653.87$54.01
Dallas Public LibraryDallas, TX1,302,8680.363.01$32.59
Austin Public LibraryAustin, TX979,8823.043.97$71.58

Nearest in size within Arizona

All profiled systems in Arizona