Assessing the spatial accessibility and spatial equity of public libraries' physical locations

Abstract Spatial accessibility of libraries affects their usage. It is crucial to consider spatial accessibility's impacts on equity and inclusiveness of public libraries. A method is proposed to evaluate the equity of spatial accessibility to library resources and services across population groups. Spatial accessibility is measured in two ways: the closest-based and quantity-based measurements that respectively characterize the level of accessibility to the closest one and to diverse resources according to travel distance and travel time in road networks. Two approaches are applied for equity evaluation with socioeconomic and demographic indicators of census tracts, including the minority population, non-adults, and population in poverty. The method is applied to examine the physical locations of public libraries in four major cities of the U.S with diverse population composition. Results show spatial inequity for socially disadvantaged populations in the cities of Washington DC, Baltimore, and Chicago. Inequity is more prominent for non-adults and minority populations in DC and Baltimore. The analysis helps identify the potential inequity for subpopulations and guide the decision-making in library services to improve equity and inclusion.