Photo: Russell Lee · Public domainAdamsville’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Adamsville Public Library serves Adamsville’s 4,224 residents. Last year it lent 6,988 print books and media and logged 4,918 visits.
The short version on Adamsville’s library
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 61 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Adamsville Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Adamsville Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Adamsville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Adamsville is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #67 of 156 in Alabama. Adamsville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Adamsville Public Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Adamsville
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.8%
3.8% of Adamsville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Adamsville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Adamsville Public Library serves 4,224 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,988 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Adamsville last year.
Find it
Adamsville Public Library, 4825 Main Street, Adamsville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Adamsville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Adamsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $81K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $113K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $81K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,260 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Adamsville ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graysville | Graysville Public Library | 5.4 | 40 | D |
| Birmingham | Birmingham Public - Central Branch | 3.2 | 52 | B |
| Adamsville | Adamsville Public Library | 1.7 | 40 | C− |
| Forestdale | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Brookside | None of its own | — | — | D |
| West Jefferson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Maytown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Adamsville
Does Adamsville have a public library?
Yes. Adamsville Public Library, 4825 Main Street, serves Adamsville’s 4,224 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adamsville Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Adamsville’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Adamsville’s civic life grade?
C− Adamsville is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #67 of 156 in Alabama. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Adamsville.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.