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Albertville, AlabamaPhoto: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Albertville Public Library

Albertville’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size

Albertville Public Library serves Albertville’s 22,726 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 19K visits.

200 Jackson Street, Albertville 35950 · about 52 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 2% of U.S. towns · #151 of 156 in Alabama. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
18K
0.8 per resident
Visits a year
19K
0.8 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
202
about 4 a week · 1,452 attended
Cardholders
73%
16,609 cards
Open
52 hrs
a week
In brief

Albertville’s library, in brief

Albertville Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Albertville Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Albertville Public Library offered 202 programs last year, 8.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Albertville Public Library holds 59,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Albertville’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Albertville is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #151 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Albertville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Albertville’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 2%
FewerMore
Alabama towns we grade (156)Ahead of 3%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $42K–$70K (6,659)Ahead of 2%

Albertville Public Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$70K) 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. All three inputs point the same way, so the letter doesn’t hinge on one figure.

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 →

Places to belong

45 community nonprofits are registered in Albertville

2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture30.13 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans110.50 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services120.51 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education40.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health50.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals60.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (20 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.

Volunteering

2.4%

2.4% of Albertville’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 Albertville’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.8 visits · typical 3.1Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.8 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.8Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.4Bottom 10%
Programs offered 8.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 86%
Cardholders 73% of residents · typical 40%Higher than 88%
Spending $18 per resident · typical $43Lower than 86%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in AL#65Most-used librariesof 71 towns
#66Most library borrowingof 70 towns
#66Best libraries for kidsof 70 towns
Size group

Albertville Public Library serves 22,726 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

19K
visits
0.8 per resident
18K
loans, print + digital
0.8 per resident
202
programs & events
1,452 attended
17K
library cards
73% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week28people at a program
Every day47Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers59K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

18K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

18Kloans
Books & media (adults) 64%Kids’ books & media 36%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Albertville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–572
Ages 6–1137
Teens14
Adults60
All ages19
Little ones
1.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
1

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Albertville last year.

1,452
people at programs
202
programs
The building

Find it

Albertville Public Library, 200 Jackson Street, Albertville.

52
hours open a week
19,536
square feet
59K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Albertville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albertville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$18 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $406K.

Local taxes 92%State 7%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $340K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $406K budget.

Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.

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 16,609 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
BoazBoaz Public Library fine-free12.254C−
AlbertvilleAlbertville Public Library fine-free0.852D−

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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits are a typical-week estimate. Albertville Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
  • 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 Albertville

Does Albertville have a public library?

Yes. Albertville Public Library, 200 Jackson Street, serves Albertville’s 22,726 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Albertville Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Albertville’s library?

It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Albertville’s civic life grade?

D− Albertville is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #151 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 Albertville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.