Louisville Free Public Library
Louisville Free Public Library serves 772,144 people in and around Louisville from 17 locations. Last year it lent 3.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 1.8M visits.
The short version on Louisville’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Louisville Free Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 167,031 square feet. The buildings ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Louisville branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
17 branches in Louisville
Louisville has 17 branches of the Louisville Free Public Library, which serves 772,144 people in and around Louisville. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 65% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Louisville Free Public Library serves 772,144 people in and around Louisville, and its numbers cover all of them.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York Street, Louisville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Louisville Free Public Library branch.
New in Louisville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Louisville Free Public Library
Louisville Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 27, 1980. It is significant for its education and architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts Classicism.
The Louisville Main Library is the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL), the largest public library system in Kentucky. Located at Fourth and York streets in SoBro, adjacent to downtown Louisville, the building comprises a 1906 Carnegie library designed by Pilcher and Tachau in the Beaux-Arts style (the South Building) and a 1969 addition by Louis and Henry Architects (the North Building).
More about the building →Other Louisville Free Public Library branches in Louisville
And 4 more in Louisville.
42% of borrowing is digital
3.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,605,856 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Louisville Free Public Library system. The library’s own count.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Louisville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $24M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24M 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 206,028 cardholders ÷ 12.
Close to typical for its size
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.
Louisville Free Public Library serves 772,144 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
About 103 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.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | Louisville Free Public Library fine-free | — | 68 |
| Jeffersonville Township | Jeffersonville Township Public Library fine-free | — | 60 |
| New Albany Township | New Albany-Floyd County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 |
| Clarksville | Clarksville Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 |
| Jeffersonville | Jeffersonville Township Public Library fine-free | — | 60 |
| New Albany | New Albany-Floyd County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 |
| Posey Township | Elizabeth Branch Library fine-free | — | 49 |
| Utica Township | None of its own | — | — |
| Taylor Township | None of its own | — | — |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — |
| Utica | None of its own | — | — |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report.
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. Louisville Free Public Library serves 772,144 people in and around Louisville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Louisville.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Louisville.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.