Hennepin County Library, serving an area of 750,000 residents, has a collection of 1,600,000 books and periodicals; in addition, there are 120,000 CDs, records, cassettes and other audio materials, as well as 56,000 video items, such as DVDs and VHS tapes. Internet terminals are available for use by the general public.
Staffing consists of 460 employees, of whom 88 are fully accredited librarians, plus volunteers. The system comprises26 branch libraries, plus one bookmobile. Annual expenditures on the library collection total $4,600,000. Patrons make 3,800,000 visits annually, and check out materials 11,500,000 times. Forty-six percent of all check-outs are children's materials.
