Union County Public Library
Union County Public Library is a county public library system based in Monroe (Union County), North Carolina, serving a legal service area of 257,682 residents through four library buildings. Among the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina, it ranks eighth for population served, eighth for operating spending and tenth for physical checkouts, but ranks second-lowest for print volumes per resident.
Among the 108 profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it records the tenth-largest gain in physical checkouts since FY 2019. Against the median system of its size class, it records 43% fewer public computers per resident and 42% less program attendance per resident.
Union County against the 122 systems of its size class
Union County, building by building
The four buildings cover 83,284 square feet in total, 0.32 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Union County Public Library at 43,000 square feet; the smallest is Lois Morgan Edwards Memorial Library at 8,500. The longest hours, 56 a week, are shared by four buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union County Public Library | Central library | Monroe | 56 | 43,000 |
| Lois Morgan Edwards Memorial Library | Branch | Marshville | 56 | 8,500 |
| Union West Regional Library | Branch | Indian Trail | 56 | 11,748 |
| Waxhaw Library | Branch | Waxhaw | 56 | 20,036 |
Union County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 362,368
- Physical checkouts
- 822,265
- …of children's materials
- 505,755
- Electronic checkouts
- 241,611
- …of e-books
- 122,470
- …of e-audio
- 82,889
- Registered users
- 80,052
- Program sessions
- 1,358
- Program attendance
- 29,751
- Print volumes
- 145,540
- Audio items (physical)
- 1,419
- Video items (physical)
- 7,017
- Public computers
- 91
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 11,648
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 77.1
- Operating spending
- $6.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $772,837
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Union County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $6.8 million, or $26.46 per resident. The local-government share sits 7 percentage points above the combined share for the 84 profiled systems in North Carolina. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Union County since FY 2019
Visits were 35% below the FY 2019 count of 554,232 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 3% up over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Union County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 62% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 22 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Harford County Public Library in Maryland.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weber County Library System | Roy, UT | 271,926 | 3.98 | 4.87 | $50.95 |
| Harford County Public Library | Belcamp, MD | 262,977 | 2.95 | 8.70 | $93.48 |
| Henry County Library System | McDonough, GA | 257,669 | 0.76 | 1.28 | $13.93 |
| Washington County Library | Woodbury, MN | 257,137 | 2.66 | 6.81 | $37.83 |
| Lafayette Public Library | Lafayette, LA | 254,241 | 2.98 | 5.39 | $44.16 |
| Yavapai County Free Library District | Prescott, AZ | 251,768 | 0.46 | 0.73 | $13.82 |
Nearest in size within North Carolina
- Cabarrus County Public Library · Concord · 242,880 residents
- Buncombe County Public Libraries · Asheville · 277,047 residents
- Gaston County Public Library · Gastonia · 239,636 residents
- New Hanover County Public Library · Wilmington · 239,514 residents