People Counting Technology Explained: How Libraries and Public Institutions Track Visitors (+ 7 Best Vendors)

People counting has undergone significant changes over the last decade. What used to be simple mechanical counters or tally sheets is now a mix of sensors and software that gives clear, reliable visitor data. Libraries, museums, student unions, and visitor centers use this information to make informed decisions about funding, staffing, programming, and building upgrades. The sections below walk through how people counting works and highlight seven vendors widely used in public spaces.

What Is People Counting Technology?

People counting systems track how many people enter, exit or occupy specific areas. Sensors mounted at doors or in ceilings detect people as they pass and send those counts to a central platform, which stores and analyzes the data.

Common setups use infrared beams across doorways or overhead units that rely on image processing or 3D depth sensing to recognize individuals and their direction of travel. The software side turns raw counts into daily and hourly trends, comparisons between locations and exportable reports, boards and funding institutions.

Manual clickers and paper logs often miss busy periods and depend heavily on staff attention. Automated systems run continuously and deliver more consistent coverage. A 2024 study from the National Recreation and Park Association found that park agencies are adopting automated counting to support operations, programming decisions and funding requests, while reducing staff time spent on manual data collection.

Market Growth and Technology Trends

The global people counting system market is estimated to reach about $3.8 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.7%. This growth is driven largely by smart city programs and the spread of analytics in shared spaces.

Vendors are responding with more capable sensors, stronger use of AI and machine learning, and designs that support privacy-conscious deployments. Many platforms now emphasize occupancy and space utilization management, so institutions can get more value out of existing buildings instead of expanding too early.

Also read: 6 Tools to Convert Website Visitors into Customers

Why Visitor Data Matters for Public Institutions

Visitor data gives you a concrete way to show how often people use your spaces and services.

For budgets and grants, such hard numbers carry weight. When you can present data on annual visits, busy seasons and long-term trends, it is easier to make the case for building repairs, technology investments and program funding. Heavy, well-documented use shows funders and local officials that a facility is essential to the community.

Space and facility decisions also improve with information. Traffic patterns help you position children’s areas, study zones, public computers and displays where they will actually be used. Cleaning and maintenance can shift toward the times and areas with the most wear, while staff schedules follow real peaks and lulls.

Program planning also becomes more grounded. Counts before, during and after story times, workshops or community events show which activities draw people in and which might need a different time or format. Because the system runs in the background, staff spend less time tallying and more time helping patrons, without losing the usage data that leadership needs.

7 Top People Counting Solutions for Libraries and Public Institutions

Seven people counting providers stand out and are commonly used in libraries and public buildings. They differ in focus, but all offer options that can work in civic and educational settings.

1. Traf-Sys

Traf-Sys works closely with libraries, student unions, museums and other public-sector sites to create some of the most affordable solutions. Its overhead people counting sensors reach accuracy levels of up to 99%, which helps when you rely on the data for annual reports and budget submissions.

You can choose from several hardware types to match different entrances and ceiling heights, including overhead solutions that integrate with existing book-detection gates. The reporting tools make it easy to compare visitors with checkouts, so you can monitor circulation rates, measure the impact of events and see how promotions affect traffic.

Facilities teams use Traf-Sys data to plan staffing, manage supplies and reinforce capital requests. For many institutions, the mix of targeted expertise, flexible hardware and affordable people counting software makes it a practical choice.

2. FootfallCam

FootfallCam provides people counting systems used in retail, transport hubs and public buildings. It showcases many case studies where libraries and cultural venues use visitor counts to support decision-making.

The company’s overhead 3D image processing sensors are designed to handle busy doors and groups, including children and adults entering together. Libraries can tap into ready-made dashboards that show hourly and daily trends, month-on-month changes and branch comparisons.

Institutions often switch from older beam counters to FootfallCam when they want a more complete view of traffic while still keeping installation and management simple. Data exports and APIs help IT or admin teams pull numbers into existing reports for boards and city leadership.

3. V-Count

V-Count offers people counting and analytics with a strong focus on AI and detailed behavioral insight. Its Ultima series sensors use 3D depth and onboard processing to maintain high accuracy in complex entrances and multi-door layouts.

Its BoostBI cloud platform goes beyond simple counts. Zone analytics shows how visitors use specific areas, such as teen zones, children’s rooms and makerspaces. Demographic estimation features help marketing and programming teams understand which age groups respond to different activities.

Larger libraries, museums and campus facilities use these tools to shape layouts, plan new services and report on how different communities use spaces. Integrations and exports make it possible to merge V-Count data with other systems for deeper analysis.

4. AXIS People Counter

AXIS People Counter runs as an application on compatible Axis network devices. If your organization already uses Axis hardware for facility monitoring, you can often turn on people counting without deploying a separate sensor at every door.

The software tracks people moving in and out, and can contribute to occupancy monitoring when used with overhead deployments. Data from multiple access points can be combined to give a full-building view. That can help central libraries and civic buildings understand how visitors flow through the area, and how different entrances contribute to the overall traffic.

IT teams working in Axis environments can manage people counting alongside other Axis applications, and connect counts to existing dashboards and reports.

5. Storetraffic

Storetraffic focuses on systems that are quick to install and easy to operate. The wireless PEARL counter suits smaller entries and can often be put in place by local maintenance staff with minimal disruption.

For wide or busy doors, the 3D scope unit provides depth-based counting that maintains accuracy in higher volumes. Data flows in Storetraffic’s cloud and mobile apps, giving managers straightforward charts on daily totals, comparisons by weekday and long-term trends.

Public libraries, visitor centers and smaller museums use these tools to replace manual tallying to build consistent statistics for funding bodies. Institutions that want reliable data, simple operation and affordable people counting software tend to see Storetraffic as an accessible option.

Also read: Top 10 Campus Management Systems for 2025

6. Analytiks

Analytiks is built for organizations that already use Cisco Meraki. Instead of deploying new sensors everywhere, you can layer analytics on top of Meraki devices and stream data to the Analytiks cloud platform.

Features include heat maps and walk-by counts that estimate how many people pass by an entrance, compared with those who come inside. Libraries in campus or civic environments use this to understand potential reach and to see how changes in signage or hours shift traffic.

Analytiks integrates with an external BI dashboard, enabling analysts to connect visitor data with program registrations, survey results and other datasets. This works well where IT teams want to keep infrastructure standardized while still gaining insight into space use.

7. RetailNext

RetailNext serves large, complex organizations and high-traffic environments. Its platform combines signals from image processing sensors and network-based data sources to build a broad view of traffic and space use.

For big central libraries, cultural centers or multi-building civic campuses, RetailNext can provide a portfolio-level picture of how people use different locations and zones. Operations and facilities teams use these insights to adjust layouts, opening hours and manpower based on actual demand. The system integrates with existing infrastructure where possible, which helps reduce extra hardware spending.

Top People Counting Solutions at a Glance

Use this table as a quick filter to see which vendors look like a good fit for your institution.

Making Data-Driven Decisions for the Community

Good people counting data provides a current and honest view of how the community uses space. With that view, you can show impact to funders, plan hours and staffing around real patterns, and design programs aligned with actual demand. A well-matched system turns everyday visitor activity into insight that helps the institution stay useful and welcoming as needs change over time.