librarysystems

San Diego Public Library

San Diego, CaliforniaMunicipal libraryLarge cityFiscal year July 2023 to June 2024

San Diego Public Library is a municipal public library system based in San Diego, California, serving a legal service area of 1,385,379 residents through 36 library buildings. Of all 8,561 systems profiled nationwide, it ranks ninth for total visits.

Among profiled systems serving 1 million or more residents, it ranks second for visits per resident, sixth for library floor space per resident and seventh for program attendance per resident and records the tenth-smallest decline in visits since FY 2019. Among the 170 profiled systems in California, it ranks third for number of library buildings, third for program attendance, fourth for operating spending and fifth for population served.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 1 million or more

San Diego against the 35 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class3.65Visitsper resident96th percentile3.87Checkoutsper resident70th percentile$54.01Spendingper resident70th percentile1.45Print volumesper resident70th percentile307Program visitsper 1,000 people81st percentile5.5Computersper 10,000 people47th percentile49.3Open hoursper outlet a week58th percentile3.7Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people67th percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident3.6596th pct.Checkouts per resident3.8770th pct.Spending per resident$54.0170th pct.Print volumes per resident1.4570th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people30781st pct.Computers per 10,000 people5.547th pct.Open hours per outlet a week49.358th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people3.767th pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

San Diego since FY 2019

Visits were 28% below the FY 2019 count of 7 million (size-class median: −34%). Physical checkouts moved 29% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to San Diego programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 48% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 26 people each.

Children 0–11205,438Young adults 12–1812,809Adults 19+54,190General interest153,359
Children 0–11205,438Young adults 12–1812,809Adults 19+54,190General interest153,359

San Diego in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
5,058,242
Physical checkouts
5,367,698
…of children's materials
2,762,054
Electronic checkouts
792,750
…of e-books
391,979
…of e-audio
312,762
Registered users
312,067
Program sessions
16,482
Program attendance
425,796
Print volumes
2,004,579
Audio items (physical)
125,868
Video items (physical)
136,735
Public computers
768
Public service hours, all outlets
92,247
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
512.5
Operating spending
$74.8 million
…on books and other materials
$2.7 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where San Diego gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $78.9 million, or $56.97 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in California.

This system91%All profiled systems in California94%
This system91%All profiled systems in California94%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

San Diego, building by building

The 36 buildings cover 963,070 square feet in total, 0.70 square feet per resident against a median of 0.39 for the size class. The largest building is San Diego Central Library at 497,652 square feet; the smallest is Kensington-Normal Heights Branch Library at 2,318. The longest hours, 50.2 a week, are shared by 14 buildings.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
San Diego Central LibraryCentral librarySan Diego50.2497,652
Allied Gardens / Benjamin Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.46,900
Balboa Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.45,092
Carmel Mountain Ranch Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.413,102
Carmel Valley Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.213,050
City Heights / Weingart BranchBranchSan Diego50.214,850
Clairemont Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego39.44,437
College-Rolando Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.415,465
Kensington-Normal Heights Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.42,318
LA Jolla / Riford Branch LibraryBranchLA Jolla50.225,000
Linda Vista Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.410,000
Logan Heights Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.225,000
Mira Mesa Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.220,278
Mission Hills Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.416,337
Mission ValleyBranchSan Diego50.219,760
Mountain View/Beckwourth Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego47.78,000
North Clairemont Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.45,136
North Park Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.48,000
North University Community Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.216,020
Oak Park Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.45,200
Ocean Beach Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego47.74,579
Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.215,000
Pacific Beach / Earl & Birdie Taylor Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.212,484
Paradise Hills Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.43,875
Point Loma/Hervey Branch LibrayBranchSan Diego50.225,890
Rancho Bernardo Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.222,950
Rancho Penasquitos Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.420,650
San Carlos Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.48,200
San Ysidro Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.416,962
Scripps Miramar Ranch Library CenterBranchSan Diego49.421,700
Serra Mesa Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego50.215,626
Skyline Hills Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.415,000
Tierrasanta Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.58,766
University Community Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.410,000
University Heights Branch LibraryBranchSan Diego49.43,749
Valencia/Malcolm X Library & Performing Arts Center, ValenciBranchSan Diego50.226,042

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 Seattle Public Library in Washington.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Houston Public LibraryHouston, TX2,314,1570.921.41$21.39
San Antonio Public LibrarySan Antonio, TX1,868,0521.462.68$28.29
Phoenix Public LibraryPhoenix, AZ1,697,6961.252.86$30.31
Dallas Public LibraryDallas, TX1,302,8680.363.01$32.59
Austin Public LibraryAustin, TX979,8823.043.97$71.58
Seattle Public LibrarySeattle, WA797,7003.685.60$125.65

Nearest in size within California

All profiled systems in California