Sussex County Dept. of Libraries
Sussex County Dept. of Libraries is a county public library system based in Georgetown (Sussex County), Delaware, serving a legal service area of 71,278 residents through three library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 21 profiled systems in Delaware, it ranks second for population served, second for total visits, second for physical checkouts and second for operating spending.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.6 times the public computers per resident and 83% more program attendance per resident.
Sussex County against the 559 systems of its size class
Sussex County, building by building
The three buildings cover 47,076 square feet in total, 0.66 square feet per resident against a median of 0.62 for the size class. The largest building is South Coastal Public Library at 20,000 square feet; the smallest is Greenwood Public Library at 10,400. The longest hours are at South Coastal Public Library, 52 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwood Public Library | Branch | Greenwood | 45 | 10,400 |
| Milton Public Library | Branch | Milton | 45.2 | 16,676 |
| South Coastal Public Library | Branch | Bethany Beach | 52 | 20,000 |
| Sussex County Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Georgetown | 32 |
Sussex County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 230,244
- Physical checkouts
- 334,293
- …of children's materials
- 110,448
- Electronic checkouts
- 90,684
- …of e-books
- 52,318
- …of e-audio
- 36,462
- Registered users
- 25,843
- Program sessions
- 1,739
- Program attendance
- 37,688
- Print volumes
- 102,197
- Audio items (physical)
- 7,500
- Video items (physical)
- 17,984
- Public computers
- 105
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 8,427
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 31.4
- Operating spending
- $3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $136,674
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Sussex County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $3.1 million, or $43.00 per resident. The local-government share sits 9 percentage points above the combined share for the 21 profiled systems in Delaware. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Who comes to Sussex County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 45% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 22 people each.
Nearest in size within Delaware
- Dover Public Library · Dover · 62,955 residents
- Kent County Public Library · Dover · 61,418 residents
- Wilmington Institute Library · Wilmington · 54,227 residents
- Smyrna Public Library · Smyrna · 39,824 residents
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to York County Public Library in Virginia.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library | Hopkinsville, KY | 72,032 | 0.70 | 0.98 | $13.96 |
| LA Crosse County Library | Holmen, WI | 71,117 | 5.08 | 5.36 | $32.74 |
| Portage County Public Library | Stevens Point, WI | 71,009 | 3.78 | 4.66 | $28.98 |
| York County Public Library | Yorktown, VA | 70,319 | 5.24 | 5.39 | $59.32 |
| Blue Earth County Library | Mankato, MN | 70,291 | 2.09 | 4.81 | $23.41 |
| Carteret County Public Library System | Beaufort, NC | 70,268 | 1.99 | 3.33 | $24.80 |