Emporia Public Library, serving an area of 31,000 residents, has a collection of 92,000 books and periodicals; in addition, there are 8,000 CDs, records, cassettes and other audio materials, as well as 1,680 video items, such as DVDs and VHS tapes. Internet terminals are available for use by the general public.
Staffing consists of 20 employees, of whom 4 are fully accredited librarians, plus volunteers. Annual expenditures on the library collection total $88,000. Patrons make 189,000 visits annually, and check out materials 180,000 times. Forty-two percent of all check-outs are children's materials.