Photo: Slpettis · Public domainAtmore’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Atmore Public serves Atmore’s 8,330 residents. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
The short version on Atmore’s library
More library cards than residents
14,082 cards for 8,330 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 102 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 46 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Atmore’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Atmore is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #43 of 156 in Alabama. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Atmore
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (11 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.
2.6%
2.6% of Atmore’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 Atmore’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Atmore Public serves 8,330 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
4,812 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
102 programs a year
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 Atmore last year.
2 places to borrow in Atmore
Atmore Public Library, 700 E. Church Street, Atmore.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Atmore? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Atmore
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Atmore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $365K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $755K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $365K 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 14,082 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Atmore Public counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Atmore
Does Atmore have a public library?
Yes. Atmore Public, 700 E. Church Street, serves Atmore’s 8,330 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Atmore Public 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 Atmore’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Atmore’s civic life grade?
C Atmore is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 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 Atmore.
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.