Lexington Public Library
Lexington Public Library serves 320,154 people in and around Lexington from 7 locations. Last year it lent 4.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 999K visits.
Lexington’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
Lexington Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Seven branches in Lexington
Lexington has seven branches of the Lexington Public Library, which serves 320,154 people in and around Lexington. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Lexington Public Library serves 320,154 people in and around Lexington, and its numbers cover all of them.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,134,710 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 33 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lexington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $17M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 151,153 cardholders ÷ 12.
7 places to borrow in Lexington
Lexington Public Library, 140 East Main Street, Lexington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lexington Public Library branch.
New in Lexington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Lexington Public Library branches in Lexington
Every hour the doors are open, about 219 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lexington Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Lexington Public Library serves 320,154 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
- System-wide. Lexington Public Library serves 320,154 people in and around Lexington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lexington.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Lexington.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.