North Central Historic District · Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Alexander City’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell Library serves Alexander City’s 14,636 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
Alexander City’s library, in brief
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Alexander City’s library system holds 34,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Alexander City’s library system lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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.
What’s behind Alexander City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Alexander City is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #121 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$59K) 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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in Alexander City
2.5 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.2%
2.2% of Alexander City’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 Alexander City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell Library serves 14,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
10,484 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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 Alexander City last year.
2 places to borrow in Alexander City
Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell Library, 318 Church Street, Alexander City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alexander City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Alexander City
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alexander City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $512K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $506K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $512K 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 10,371 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander City | Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell Library | 1.9 | 47 | D |
| Our Town | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jacksons' Gap | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Alexander City
Does Alexander City have a public library?
Yes. Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell Library, 318 Church Street, serves Alexander City’s 14,636 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alexander City - Adelia Mcconnell Russell 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 Alexander City’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alexander City’s civic life grade?
D Alexander City is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #121 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 Alexander City.
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.