Download the Market Area reports for each of these libraries

A market area is the estimated population the library serves. For example if the library put up a paper map by the back door and asked every person exiting to push the pin into their address, a dispersal of homes would appear on the map--that could be considered an estimated market area. The market areas in these reports were calculated using the "gravity" method, which means the every single person in the United States is assigned to the library closest to their house.

A block group is a census term that gathers people in ranges from 300 to 6000. Block groups are comprised of blocks (yes kind of like a city block!) If you live in Wyoming you will have fewer block groups as there is not as much population there as in New York. The United States has a total of 211,267 block groups, each containing an average of 39 blocks. Once you get a grasp of the terminology, you can estimate the area a library serves.

The following market area reports show the demographic make-up of these libraries slated for closure.