Libraries Reporting Circulation and Users to the ALA for 1915

Supporting data for Galbi, “Book Circulation Per U.S. Public Library User Since 1856.”

Source: Papers and Proceedings of the 38’th Annual Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA), Asbury Park, NJ, June 26-July 1, 1916, published in Bulletin of the American Library Association, v. 10, n. 4 (July) 1916.

rid	Location		Library Name (in addition to location)	Population Served (1000s)	Volumes	Circulation	Users (borrowers)	Users (within library)
1	Aberdeen	SD	Mitchell	10	7,610	30,205	2,614
2	Abilene	KS	Free Public Library	4	6,158	20,177	3,565	41,036
8	Arlington	MA	Robbins	14	28,435	54,598	8,500	41,384
10	Atlanta	GA	Carnegie	102	73,726	375,831	62,603	114,744
11	Auburn	ME	Public Library	15	19,829	56,583	5,000
13	Austin	MN	Carnegie Public Library	9	8,180	22,722	2,550	19,712
14	Bakersfield	CA	Kern Co. Free Library	37	19,925	80,302	9,332
15	Baltimore	MD	Enoch Pratt	558	334,366	696,111	44,929
17	Bangor	ME	Public Library	26		82,956	4,945
18	Belfast	ME	Free Library	4	17,462	29,665	3,336
19	Berkeley	CA	Public Library	65	55,183	296,362	8,711
20	Birmingham	AL	Public Library	200	44,638	280,670	27,588	85,332
21	Bloomington	IL	Withers Public Library	26	27,339	98,141	9,392
25	Boston	MA	Public Library	745	1,121,747	1,910,320	112,199
27	Braddock	PA	Carnegie Free Library	85	66,652	383,218	15,556	74,182
28	Bardford	PA	Carnegie Public Library	14	20,325	102,036	6,996
29	Brockton	MA	Public Library	65	71,416	261,542	16,479
30	Brookline	MA	Public Library	33	89,663	230,913	11,207
32	Brooklyn	MA	Public Library	1825	862,112	5,875,190	351,835
35	Burlington	IA	Public Library	24	39,278	113,336	7,254
36	Cairo	IL	Public Library		19,482	55,220	2,877	12,329
37	Calumet	MI	C&H Mfg. Co		42,120	179,561	9,550	89,284
39	Camden	NY	Free Public Library	102	61,682	238,616	5,236
40	Canton	MA	Public Library		18,093	35,608	2,221
41	Carlisle	IN	Public Library	3	1,817	8,832	866
42	Carthage	MO	Public Library		9,079	42,389	4,616	2,599
44	Cedard Rapids	IA	Public Library	43	35,252	208,712	11,855
45	Charlotte	NC	Carnegie	34	8,216	44,891	6,704	23,075
46	Chelsea	MA	Public Library	43	17,524	103,741	3,447
52	Chickasha	OK	Carnegie Public Library	12	3,621	14,670	1,879
54	Chilicothe	OH	Public Library		35,000	84,726	10,844
56	Cincinnati	OH	Public Library	500	487,088	1,669,216	101,132
57	Cleburne	TX	Carnegie Public Library	17	7,868	21,374	3,483
58	Cleveland	OH	Public Library		519,519	3,023,156	163,418
59	Clinton	IA	Free Public Library	26	21,715	96,367	10,473
62	Columbus	WI	Free Public Library		5,059	21,297	1,667
64	Cornish	NH	G.H. Stowell Free Public Library	1	3,444	5,431	500	4,159
66	Dallas	TX	Public Library	130	51,972	156,707	24,631
67	Danbury	CT	Public Library	23	22,353	54,627	3,270
68	Danville	IL	Public Library	40	32,851	87,239	6,075
69	Davenport	IA	Public Library	48	42,669	192,098	11,341
70	Denver	CO	Public Library	213	167,020	647,711	57,923
71	Detroit	MI	Public Library	600	329,675	1,491,034	100,294
72	Dickinson	ND	Public Library		4,182	15,494	700	9,668
73	Dover	NH	Public Library	13	44,275	76,848	15,840	25,422
74	Duluth	MN		94	67,623	269,429	22,063
76	Elkhart	IN	Carnegie Library	23	24,401	87,441	7,690
77	Elmira	NY	Steele Mem. Library		21,834	76,452	8,811	2,800
78	Emporia	KS	Free Library	12	13,963	43,636	4,871
79	Endicott	NY	Free Library		1,940	24,493	1,842
80	Eugene	OR	Public Library	14	7,084	33,969	4,808
83	Evanston	IL	Public Library	27	52,056	109,966	10,237
84	Everett	WA	Public Library	33	9,495	50,880	5,347
85	Fairhaven	MA	Millicent Library	6	22,596	54,211	2,016
88	Fort William	Canada	Public Library	20	17,632	89,557	4,975
89	Galveston	TX	Rosenberg Library	45	54,712	72,623	16,115
90	Gardner	MA	Heywood Mem	16	16,401	75,870	3,549
91	Gary	IN	Public Library	45	53,566	223,387	13,186	186,201
93	Glencoe	IL	Public Library		3,817	9,508	697	4,308
94	Goshen	NY	L& Hist. Soc.	3	3,526	14,758	1,021
95	Gourverneur	NY	Rdg. R.A.	4	6,325	22,438	1,591
96	Grand Rapids	MI	Public Library	112	160,308	433,213	26,385	440,047
97	Greenfield	MA	Public Library	12	32,546	82,699	5,218
99	Hammond	IN	Public Library	20	17,295	42,847	4,123	18,790
101	Hanover	NH	Howe Library	2	6,173	25,575	1,033
103	Herkimer	NY	Free Library	8	12,633	29,200	4,580
104	Homestead	PA	Carnegie Library	30	46,374	137,788	12,500
105	Hood River	OR	Public Library		4,726	26,607	2,857	8,368
106	Hudson	MA	Public Library	6	11,419	46,914	2,500
107	Hutchison	CS	Public Library	20	8,104	39,874	3,725
109	Iowa City	IA	Public Library	10	14,765	50,071	5,393
110	Irvington	NJ	Free Public Library	20	3,569	38,377	2,519
111	Jackson	MI	Public Library	38	46,816	165,308	8,735
112	Jamaica	NY	Queens Borrough	395	214,916	1,533,289	104,126
113	Jamestown	ND	Public Library	6	5,515	18,524	2,971
114	Jennings	LA	Carnegie Library	4	2,907	6,513	543
116	Kaukauna	WI	Free Public Library	4	5,640	17,128	2,709	5,250
118	Kokomo	IN	Carnegie Public Library	17	10,646	59,406	4,309	23,138
119	Laconia	NH	Public Library	11	22,499	43,881	6,846
122	Lancaster	PA	Smith Mem. Library	52	13,504	76,290	3,981	17,641
123	Lawrence	KS	Free Public Library	13	13,834	50,969	2,744
126	Little Rock	AK	Public Library		21,602	102,599	11,654	60,792
127	Long Beach	CA	Public Library	32	36,934	317,611	16,818
128	Lorain	OH	Free Public Library	32	10,234	63,971	8,155
129	Louisville	KY	Free Public Library	259	169,892	945,966	50,090
130	Lynn	MA	Public Library	89	102,302	270,876	18,171
133	Madison	NJ	Public Library	5	11,201	28,027	1,886
134	Manchester	NH	City Library	70	77,000	147,443	1,997
137	Massillon	OH	McClymonds Public Library	16	20,627	64,222	4,137
139	Menominee	MI	Spies Public Library	13	12,406	46,958	4,038
140	Menomonie	WI	Painter M.	5	15,220	54,430	4,947
141	Mehuen	MA	Nevins Mem. Library	11	21,211	33,557	318
142	Milford	NH	Free Library	3	12,642	39,122	2,272	11,861
144	Minot	ND	Free Public Library	10	4,784	22,237	2,867	21,129
145	MIssoula	MT	Public Library	12	17,456	51,326	5,399
147	Montclair	NJ	Free Public Library	25	38,801	176,116	11,069
149	New Britain	CN	Free Public Library	52	59,392	206,702	13,632
151	New London	CN	Public Library	19	30,137	87,275	8,910
152	New Rochelle	NY	Public Library	34	36,893	132,926	13,494	18,000
158	Newark	NJ	Free Public Library		226,897	1,194,817	62,005
160	Newton	MA	Free Library		89,665	294,054	12,361
161	Niagara Falls	NY	Public Library	42	24,886	81,801	21,176
162	Norfolk	VA	Public Library		24,103	63,135	11,481
163	North Adamas	MA	Public Library	22	37,382	86,648	7,808
164	Norwich	NY	Guernsey Memorial Library	8	12,334	30,401	3,900	22,050
166	Oak Park	IL	Public Library	30	27,136	140,140	11,407	575,000
167	Oakland	CA	Free Library	215	125,161	806,278	40,820	1,104,961
168	Oklahoma City	OK	Carnegie Library	90	24,420	85,916	24,137
169	Orange	NJ	Free Library	29	40,796	82,423	12,994	19,689
170	Oskaloosa	IA	Public Library	10	11,366	58,355	2,982
173	Painesdale	MI	S.S. Paine Memorial Library	3	6,965	30,458	3,555
174	Parsons	KA	Public Library	15	8,717	45,125	3,374
177	Patchogue	NY	Library	4	6,734	32,115	2,429
178	Pateson	NJ	Free Public Library	124	60,675	269,584	23,940
179	Pawtucket	RI	C.C. Sayles	55	35,712	179,879	9,822
180	Peace Dale	RI	Nar. L Ass'n	5	15,024	29,269	1,471
184	Philadelphia	PA	Free Library	1549	494,992	2,730,173	165,648	1,813,201
186	Pierre	SD	Carnegie Library		5,185	13,997	967	5,185
188	Plainfield	NJ	Public Library	24	52,580	99,607	5,829	89,363
189	Plattsburgh	NY	Public Library	11	14,638	36,392	8,268
191	Porland	OR	L. Association	275	225,560	1,385,964	80,317
192	Pottsville	PA	Free Public Library	20	10,531	81,364	7,245
193	Poughkeepsie	NY	Adriance Memorial Library	32	54,043	125,380	8,546
194	Princeton	IN	Public Library	9	12,977	33,140	2,170
196	Proctor	VT	Free Library	3	9,374	22,610	1,200
199	Providence	RI	Public Library	247	181,306	294,352	37,603
200	Pueblo	CO	McClelland Public Library	45	28,417	103,180	8,000
202	Racine	WI	Public Library	45	27,539	152,601	10,759
203	Raton	NM	Public Library	4	4,605	16,709	1,300
204	Reading	MA	Public Library	6	9,122	25,668	352
205	Redlands	CA	A.K. Smiley Public Library	11	27,759	115,423	7,779
207	Richland Center	WI	Public Library	2	4,358	14,657	1,528
208	Richland	CA	Public Library		10,998	79,873	4,986
210	Rochester	NY	Reynolds Library	218	78,021	43,062	4,447
213	Rockford	IL	Public Library	50	62,940	186,047	11,362
217	Saginaw	MI	East Side Public Library	30	20,018	82,585	4,182
219	St. Louis	MO	Public Library	750	414,623	1,690,037	100,717
221	St. Paul	MN	Public Library	276	327,926	438,643	38,813
222	Salem	MA	Public Library	37	63,545	148,172	1,426
223	Salt Lake City	UT	Public Library	100	62,331	313,796	25,545
225	Scottdale	PA	Free Public Library	7	9,952	50,744	225
226	Scranton	PA	Public Library	145	78,506	119,804	14,014
227	Seattle	WA	Public Library	330	254,536	1,369,485	66,186
228	Somerville	MA	Public Library	86	108,849	422,466	23,940
229	Springfield	IL	Lincoln Library	57	65,883	193,409	9,670
231	Stockton	NY	Seymour Mem.		4,986	3,371	328
232	Superior	WI	Public Library	46	29,400	151,591	12,821
234	Syracuse	NY	Public Library	145	121,186	422,841	25,796	84,723
235	Tacoma	WA	Public Library		81,367	421,071	18,148
237	Toronto	Canada	Public Library		257,657	892,161	66,653
238	Trenton	NJ	Free Public Library		69,957	281,209	17,448	13,134
240	Union Springs	Al	Library	5	2,285	7,573	1,032
241	Uxbridge	MA	Free Public Library		12,871	18,738	1,273	5,424
243	Van Wert	OH	Brumback Library	29	23,808	98,011	12,440
244	Wisalia	CA	Tulare County Library	35	19,118	119,028	8,692
245	Wabash	IN	Carnegie Library	8	8,589	27,810	2,741
246	Waco	TX	Public Library	35	20,211	106,886	15,307
248	Walpole	MA	Public Library	5	14,538	33,479	1,000
250	Washington	DC	Public Library of DC	358	179,183	802,998	47,296
252	Waxahachie	TX	N.P. Sims Library	7	6,528	11,667	1,510
255	Westfield	MA	Athenaeum	18	31,359	90,620	2,856
256	Whiting	IN	Public Library	8	11,260	36,471	1,934
257	Williamsport	PA	J.V. Brown Library		25,448	115,167	6,519	20,344
258	Williston	ND	James Memorial Library		4,192	15,563	1,235	7,245
259	Winchester	VA	Handley Library	5	5,669	29,851	1,700	53,964
261	Woonsocket	RI	Harris Inst.	40	20,863	43,497	5,463
262	Worcester	MA	Free Public Library	162	212,253	609,804	32,851
Total					11,297,329	44,790,043	2,965,632

The source terms for the table headings above: rid, the record number; Volumes, “Total No. of vols at end of year”; circulation, “Total no. of vols lent for home use”; users (borrowers), “Registration”; users (within library), “No. of persons using library for reading or study.”

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