"Population of Montgomery County, MD = 927,583. Divided by 21 library branches = one branch per 44,170 people.
Population of Jackson County, OR = 195,322. Divided by 15 library branches = one branch per 13,021 people." BWL
I heartily disagree with you, Beed. Population alone cannot be used to justify access to libraries. As katlaughing said, in rural areas it is immeasurably more difficult to get to a library. Cities have buses that run every hour or more often. In rurarl areas and in small cities there are NO buses, NO public transport.
For that matter, Juneau, Alaska, has fewer than 31,000 in population. We have 1/2 hour bus service and three taxi companies. Monday through Thursday our libraries are open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. Friday, Saturday and Sunday they are open from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm.