Show how your library is really used, without watching anyone
A library is a public space whose value is hard to put in numbers. Loans now show only part of it, because people also come to read, study, meet, attend events or simply spend time somewhere warm and free. Measuring that anonymously gives you evidence you can take to funders.
Real usage, measured anonymously and without surveillance.
Trusted by
Why libraries choose Bumbee Labs
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Evidence without surveillance
The measurement is anonymous, aggregated and DPA-approved, so it honours the privacy a public library stands for.
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Real usage beyond loans
You see total visits through the doors, including people who don't borrow, and space utilisation by zone, so children's, study, reading and event areas can be planned on facts.
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Hours and staffing that fit demand
Visits by hour, day, week and season show exactly when the building is used, so opening hours and rosters can follow it.
On this page
Library footfall counting shows how many people visit and when, hour by hour across the seasons, and how each zone is used. It runs over the library’s Wi-Fi, and an overhead 3D sensor at the entrance can add an exact door total. Bumbee Labs is the company behind the only footfall method in Europe approved by a data protection authority.
The short version
- Library visits by hour, day, week and season, and the use of each zone, counted anonymously over the library’s Wi-Fi.
- An overhead 3D sensor at the entrance adds exact in and out counts where a precise door total is wanted.
- A dashboard and exportable reports for the municipality and other funders, so visit statistics can sit beside loan statistics.
- Further down: five main questions, from visits against loans to patrons asking whether they are watched, then ten shorter ones.
Which questions can library footfall data answer?
How do we show that more people visit than borrow?
Loan statistics record only people who borrow, so visitors who read, study or attend an event never appear in them. A door count adds those visits, by hour, day and season. Wi-Fi covers the building, and an overhead 3D sensor at the entrance gives exact in and out counts. The glossary entry Footfall / visitor count defines the measure.
Is the visit figure we report to the library statistics counted or scaled up?
A manual count samples a few hours and scales them up, and its error depends on who held the clicker. A continuous series covers every open hour and is calibrated against manual control counts. 3D sensor counting adds exact in and out totals at the entrance. Visitor figures for funders covers how to report them.
Are we open and staffed when people actually come?
Visits by hour, day, week and season show when the library is busy and when it is near-empty, so opening hours and rosters can follow demand. The series comes from Wi-Fi people counting across the building; where the exact total matters, a sensor at the entrance adds it. Staff planning with footfall data shows how rosters are built from it.
Which parts of the library are used, and when?
Zone counts show how the children’s section, study spaces, reading room, event space and café are used through the day, and which of them sit idle. Dwell time by zone separates a quick reference visit from an afternoon of study. Wi-Fi coverage usually gives this zone view with the access points already in place.
Does counting mean our patrons are being watched?
No library patron is identified, no profiles are built, and visitors appear only as anonymous, aggregated counts. Wi-Fi counting uses no cameras and nothing that records a face. Where a sensor counts at the entrance, it processes video for counting only and stores no personal images. The article on people counting without cameras goes into more detail.
What else can a library learn from the count?
- Who counts the visitors when the library is open but unstaffed?Manual counts miss unstaffed hours, while a continuous count covers every open hour.
- Is there a free study seat?Zone counts show how busy the study spaces are by time of day, and the Crowd Alert add-on described under data deliverables alerts in near real time when a zone passes a threshold you set.
- Which branches should we keep?When budgets shrink and branches are set against each other, visits per branch and opening hour in one view on the Analytics platform & API give that discussion a measured basis.
- Did the author evening draw people?Visits that evening are set against comparable days, and the difference is the lift from the talk or reading programme; see measure event impact.
- How do the branches compare?Visits, peaks and areas sit side by side across libraries, normalised so the numbers line up; see benchmarking footfall.
- Do we need all the floor space before a rebuild or a move?Zone counts show which areas are busy, which sit idle and when.
- A quick errand or an afternoon of study?Dwell time separates short visits from long ones, overall and by area.
- What should the tender for visitor counting say?Requirements for anonymity and evidence can be written into the specification, and the guide to public procurement of people counting lists them.
- When is the afternoon peak?Visits by hour and weekday show when the building fills and when it is near-empty, for planning staffing, events and quiet hours.
- How many of a culture centre’s visitors come to the library?Zone-based counting separates the library from the rest of the building, so each venue gets its own figure.
How does library people counting work?
Bumbee Labs counts visits over the library’s existing Wi-Fi, with no cameras and nothing that records a face or identifies a reader. Usually no new hardware is needed: the access points already in place are often enough, with one or two added to cover an entrance or a separate floor. Where an exact total at the door matters, an overhead 3D sensor counts people in and out at the entrance, and video is processed for counting only. Both methods feed the same dashboard. The signals run through a statistical engine, and the result reaches you as a dashboard or as exportable reports for your board and funders.
What data does a library get?
- Total visitsvisits through the doors, beyond loans and logins, on adjustable time scales from short intervals to months.
- Opening-hours and staffing demandvisits by hour, day, week and season, so hours and rosters follow demand.
- Space utilisation by zone(children’s area, study spaces, reading room, event space, café): which areas are busy, which are quiet, and when.
- Dwell timehow long people stay, overall and by area (a quick reference look versus an afternoon of study).
- Peaks, quiet periods and trendsfor planning quiet hours, events and seasonal programmes.
- Programme and event impactthe attendance lift from talks, exhibitions and reading initiatives, as fact-based evidence.
Has this worked in other public buildings?
The same approach is already proven in other public-facing buildings, where it shows how people use each area and how events bring them in, and gives funders figures they accept for what the place is worth. In a library it supplies the same kind of evidence for visits, space use and event turnout.
Which related venues share this need?
Libraries and cultural venues usually answer to similar funders and set a similar privacy bar; see Museum attendance for how a museum uses the data. Libraries also sit inside the wider public realm covered by city and municipal footfall analytics. Municipal swim centres have the same annual reporting task, covered under Public pools & swim centres.
Curious what this looks like for your venue?
Approved and validated
The method is approved by a data protection authority and validated by academia, partners and customers. You get the evidence you need without collecting anything personal.
We are very happy to announce this partnership with Bumbee Labs to boost our Wireless solutions portfolio and bring what we believe is the future for retail businesses, measured by trustful data. What can't be measured, can't be improved.
Frequently asked questions
Does library people counting identify or track anyone?
No. Nobody is identified and no profiles are built. Visitors appear in the data only as anonymous, aggregated counts.
Can we report library visit statistics to the municipality and other funders?
Yes. The dashboard and the exportable reports are written for boards and funding bodies, so a library can put visit figures beside loan figures in its annual reporting.
Can library people counting show which areas and events are actually used?
Yes. Zone-level data shows how the children's section, study spaces and event areas are used through the day, and event measurement shows what a talk or reading programme did to attendance.
Where this fits
Part of
Industries and segments
Metrics
Methods
Platform and integrations
Data protection:GDPR-compliant footfall analyticsThe IMY decisionDPIA for people counting