Washington County Library
Washington County Library is a county public library system based in Woodbury (Washington County), Minnesota, serving a legal service area of 257,137 residents through seven library buildings. Among the 132 profiled systems in Minnesota, it ranks sixth for population served, sixth for total visits, seventh for physical checkouts and eighth for operating spending.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 92% more physical checkouts per resident and 20% more visits per resident.
Washington County against the 122 systems of its size class
Washington County, building by building
The seven buildings cover 93,278 square feet in total, 0.36 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Rh Stafford Library at 24,584 square feet; the smallest is Valley Library at 4,292. The longest hours, 58.3 a week, are shared by three buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwood Creek Library | Branch | Forest Lake | 58.3 | 21,944 |
| Lake Elmo Library | Branch | Lake Elmo | 38.2 | 7,000 |
| Oakdale Library | Branch | Oakdale | 46.7 | 8,116 |
| Park Grove Library | Branch | Cottage Grove | 58.3 | 15,636 |
| Rh Stafford Library | Branch | Woodbury | 58.3 | 24,584 |
| Valley Library | Branch | Lakeland | 22.8 | 4,292 |
| Wildwood Library | Branch | Mahtomedi | 42.7 | 11,706 |
Washington County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 683,553
- Physical checkouts
- 1,750,493
- …of children's materials
- 1,073,478
- Electronic checkouts
- 905,865
- …of e-books
- 438,924
- …of e-audio
- 354,286
- Registered users
- 112,919
- Program sessions
- 1,782
- Program attendance
- 48,063
- Print volumes
- 323,839
- Audio items (physical)
- 22,132
- Video items (physical)
- 22,513
- Public computers
- 166
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 16,919
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 76.7
- Operating spending
- $9.7 million
- …on books and other materials
- $750,826
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Washington County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $10.1 million, or $39.39 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points above the combined share for the 132 profiled systems in Minnesota. Federal money made up 3.2% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Washington County since FY 2019
Visits were 16% below the FY 2019 count of 812,796 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 4% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Washington County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 75% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 27 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, two 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harford County Public Library | Belcamp, MD | 262,977 | 2.95 | 8.70 | $93.48 |
| Union County Public Library | Monroe, NC | 257,682 | 1.41 | 3.19 | $25.20 |
| Henry County Library System | McDonough, GA | 257,669 | 0.76 | 1.28 | $13.93 |
| 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 |
| Ventura County Library | Ventura, CA | 244,172 | 1.25 | 2.48 | $52.64 |
Nearest in size within Minnesota
- Ramsey County Library · Shoreview · 240,198 residents
- Saint Paul Public Library · Saint Paul · 310,997 residents
- Anoka County Library · Blaine · 349,759 residents
- East Central Regional Library · Cambridge · 185,638 residents