St. Joseph County Public Library
St. Joseph County Public Library is a library district based in South Bend (St. Joseph County), Indiana, serving a legal service area of 170,799 residents through 10 library buildings. Among the 358 profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks fifth for library floor space per resident.
Among the 235 profiled systems in Indiana, it ranks third for total visits, third for operating spending, third for number of library buildings and third for public computers. Against the median system of its size class, it records 3.2 times the operating spending per resident and 3.1 times the public computers per resident.
St. Joseph County against the 360 systems of its size class
St. Joseph County, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 243,834 square feet in total, 1.43 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is St. Joseph County Public Library at 138,480 square feet; the smallest is Lakeville Branch at 3,954. The longest hours are at St. Joseph County Public Library, 64 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph County Public Library | Central library | South Bend | 64 | 138,480 |
| Centre Township Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 17,170 |
| German Township Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 15,600 |
| Lakeville Branch | Branch | Lakeville | 42.8 | 3,954 |
| Lasalle Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 10,200 |
| North Liberty Branch | Branch | North Liberty | 44 | 4,253 |
| River Park Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 10,200 |
| Roger B Francis Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 23,577 |
| Virginia M Tutt Branch Library | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 10,200 |
| Western Branch | Branch | South Bend | 56 | 10,200 |
St. Joseph County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 818,446
- Physical checkouts
- 1,342,086
- …of children's materials
- 567,064
- Electronic checkouts
- 723,590
- …of e-books
- 300,793
- …of e-audio
- 342,474
- Registered users
- 72,558
- Program sessions
- 2,376
- Program attendance
- 53,478
- Print volumes
- 501,022
- Audio items (physical)
- 27,111
- Video items (physical)
- 48,280
- Public computers
- 301
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 27,780
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 156.8
- Operating spending
- $18.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.9 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where St. Joseph County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $26.5 million, or $155.40 per resident. The local-government share sits 16 percentage points below the combined share for the 235 profiled systems in Indiana.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
St. Joseph County since FY 2019
Visits were 12% below the FY 2019 count of 929,008 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 9% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to St. Joseph County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 57% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 23 people each.
Library districts 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 Ann Arbor District Library in Michigan.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton-Macomb Public Library | Clinton Township, MI | 184,879 | 2.32 | 6.89 | $39.68 |
| Ann Arbor District Library | Ann Arbor, MI | 177,696 | 8.13 | 26.35 | $106.38 |
| Kenton County Public Library | Erlanger, KY | 171,321 | 3.56 | 7.45 | $79.98 |
| Pueblo City-County Library District | Pueblo, CO | 169,427 | 3.62 | 5.04 | $78.38 |
| Jackson District Library | Jackson, MI | 160,366 | 2.44 | 7.95 | $57.34 |
| Mesa County Public Library District | Grand Junction, CO | 159,637 | 4.51 | 6.03 | $50.93 |
Nearest in size within Indiana
- Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library · Evansville · 180,136 residents
- Hamilton East Public Library · Noblesville · 180,617 residents
- Porter County Public Library System · Valparaiso · 152,580 residents
- Tippecanoe County Public Library · Lafayette · 141,306 residents