librarysystems

Saint Paul Public Library

Saint Paul, MinnesotaRamsey CountyMunicipal libraryLarge cityFiscal year January 2024 to December 2024

Saint Paul Public Library is a municipal public library system based in Saint Paul (Ramsey County), Minnesota, serving a legal service area of 310,997 residents through 13 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among profiled systems in Minnesota, it ranks second for operating spending, third for total visits, third for electronic checkouts and third for the electronic share of checkouts.

By population served it is the fifth-largest of the 132 profiled systems in Minnesota. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.0 times the operating spending per resident and 90% more paid staff per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 250,000 to 499,999

Saint Paul against the 122 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class4.09Visitsper resident89th percentile5.86Checkoutsper resident73rd percentile$72.47Spendingper resident82nd percentile1.55Print volumesper resident77th percentile151Program visitsper 1,000 people25th percentile10.6Computersper 10,000 people85th percentile44.0Open hoursper outlet a week33rd percentile6.0Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people82nd percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident4.0989th pct.Checkouts per resident5.8673rd pct.Spending per resident$72.4782nd pct.Print volumes per resident1.5577th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people15125th pct.Computers per 10,000 people10.685th pct.Open hours per outlet a week44.033rd pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people6.082nd pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Saint Paul in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
1,271,015
Physical checkouts
1,823,102
…of children's materials
880,877
Electronic checkouts
1,043,163
…of e-books
564,084
…of e-audio
364,213
Registered users
367,090
Program sessions
3,367
Program attendance
47,051
Print volumes
482,679
Audio items (physical)
41,359
Video items (physical)
68,416
Public computers
330
Public service hours, all outlets
32,061
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
185.5
Operating spending
$22.5 million
…on books and other materials
$1.5 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Saint Paul gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $23.5 million, or $75.70 per resident. The local-government share sits 5 percentage points above the combined share for the 132 profiled systems in Minnesota.

This system93%All profiled systems in Minnesota89%
This system93%All profiled systems in Minnesota89%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Municipal libraries of similar size in other states

Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Madison Public Library in Wisconsin.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Riverside Public LibraryRiverside, CA316,6901.442.20$25.58
Corpus Christi Public LibrariesCorpus Christi, TX316,5951.682.32$20.21
Newark Public LibraryNewark, NJ311,5490.860.21$45.03
Santa Ana Public LibrarySanta Ana, CA310,7970.360.52$25.96
Madison Public LibraryMadison, WI304,8814.507.12$73.59
Lubbock Public LibraryLubbock, TX299,1671.151.86$13.85

Saint Paul since FY 2019

Visits were 36% below the FY 2019 count of 2 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 11% down over the same span.

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

Who comes to Saint Paul programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 63% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 14 people each.

Children 0–1129,746Young adults 12–188,101Adults 19+6,146General interest3,058
Children 0–1129,746Young adults 12–188,101Adults 19+6,146General interest3,058

Saint Paul, building by building

The 12 buildings cover 272,652 square feet in total, 0.88 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is St. Paul Public Library-Central at 90,353 square feet; the smallest is West 7th Street Popular Library at 1,371. The longest hours, 56.6 a week, are shared by three buildings.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
St. Paul Public Library-CentralCentral librarySaint Paul40.990,353
Arlington Hills Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul56.410,281
Dayton's Bluff Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul48.86,664
Hayden Heights Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul48.512,324
Highland Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul56.629,083
Merriam Park Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul52.916,923
Rice Street Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul52.912,846
Riverview Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul497,803
Rondo Community LibraryBranchSaint Paul56.658,884
St. Anthony Park Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul49.110,590
Sun Ray Branch LibraryBranchSaint Paul56.615,530
West 7th Street Popular LibraryBranchSaint Paul34.41,371
Mobile LibraryBookmobileSaint Paul20.5

Nearest in size within Minnesota

All profiled systems in Minnesota