San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library is a municipal public library system based in San Francisco, California, serving a legal service area of 843,071 residents through 28 library buildings and four bookmobiles. Of all systems profiled nationwide, it ranks fourth for operating spending and seventh for electronic checkouts.
Among profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks first for operating spending per resident, first for paid staff per resident and fifth for visits per resident and records the fifth-smallest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Among the 170 profiled systems in California, it ranks third for print volumes, fourth for total visits and fourth for physical checkouts.
San Francisco against the 61 systems of its size class
San Francisco in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 3,976,556
- Physical checkouts
- 7,533,779
- …of children's materials
- 3,618,719
- Electronic checkouts
- 6,502,380
- …of e-books
- 3,115,668
- …of e-audio
- 2,383,273
- Registered users
- 455,211
- Program sessions
- 13,191
- Program attendance
- 365,006
- Print volumes
- 2,208,142
- Audio items (physical)
- 60,167
- Video items (physical)
- 164,899
- Public computers
- 775
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 73,636
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 774.1
- Operating spending
- $168 million
- …on books and other materials
- $22.9 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where San Francisco gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $171 million, or $202.37 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points above the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in California. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
None of these six systems records more visits per resident than this one. None of them matches this system's checkouts per resident.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha Public Library | Omaha, NE | 571,013 | 2.31 | 4.97 | $36.23 |
| Mesa Public Library | Mesa, AZ | 524,892 | 1.24 | 3.04 | $16.78 |
| Virginia Beach Public Library | Virginia Beach, VA | 458,028 | 1.99 | 3.20 | $46.01 |
| Greensboro Public Library | Greensboro, NC | 435,509 | 2.50 | 2.53 | $25.49 |
| Arlington Public Library System | Arlington, TX | 398,431 | 1.87 | 3.01 | $25.83 |
| Wichita Public Library | Wichita, KS | 396,119 | 1.63 | 2.61 | $31.14 |
San Francisco since FY 2019
Visits were 33% below the FY 2019 count of 5.9 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 5% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to San Francisco programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 58% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 28 people each.
San Francisco, building by building
The 28 buildings cover 603,661 square feet in total, 0.72 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is San Francisco Main Library at 376,000 square feet; the smallest is Ocean View Branch Library at 4,794. The longest hours are at San Francisco Main Library, 58 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Main Library | Central library | San Francisco | 58 | 376,000 |
| Anza Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 8,222 |
| Bayview Linda Brooks-Burton Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 53.5 | 9,527 |
| Bernal Heights Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 8,777 |
| Chinatown-Him Mark Lai Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 50.9 | 17,858 |
| Eureka Valley-Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 51.6 | 6,465 |
| Excelsior Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 50.9 | 8,307 |
| Glen Park Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 47 | 7,185 |
| Golden Gate Valley Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 47.6 | 7,432 |
| Ingleside Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 46.9 | 6,100 |
| Marina Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.5 | 7,633 |
| Merced Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 51.5 | 6,376 |
| Mission Bay Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 7,500 |
| Mission Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 53.5 | 10,479 |
| Noe Valley-Sally Brunn Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 45.9 | 6,096 |
| North Beach Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 8,500 |
| Ocean View Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 4,794 |
| Ortega Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 9,300 |
| Park Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 47.8 | 8,825 |
| Parkside Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48 | 6,890 |
| Portola Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48.6 | 6,427 |
| Potrero Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 47.9 | 5,428 |
| Presidio Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 48 | 10,205 |
| Richmond-Sen. Milton Marks Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 50.9 | 13,800 |
| Sunset Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 53.5 | 9,580 |
| Visitacion Valley Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 51 | 9,945 |
| West Portal Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 50.9 | 8,010 |
| Western Addition Branch Library | Branch | San Francisco | 47.6 | 8,000 |
| Green Mobile (00003) | Bookmobile | San Francisco | 6.3 | |
| Library on Wheels (612) | Bookmobile | San Francisco | 5.9 | |
| Techmobile (611) | Bookmobile | San Francisco | 0.8 | |
| Youthmobile | Bookmobile | San Francisco | 11.3 |
Nearest in size within California
- Kern County Library · Bakersfield · 888,074 residents
- San Jose Public Library · San Jose · 969,491 residents
- Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library · Stockton · 724,916 residents
- Fresno County Public Library · Fresno · 993,976 residents