Wilcox Female Institute · Photo: Altairisfar · Public domainCamden’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Wilcox County Library serves 10,059 people in and around Camden. Last year it lent 5,881 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,570 visits.
Camden’s library, in brief
Wilcox County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Wilcox County Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Wilcox County Library offered 35 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; Wilcox County Library serves 10,059 people in and around Camden, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Camden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Camden is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns. Camden is graded on two of the three inputs. Camden’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$46K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Camden
5.2 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.3%
2.3% of Camden’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 Camden’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.
Wilcox County Library serves 10,059 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wilcox County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,881 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
35 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Wilcox County Library, 100 Broad Street, Camden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wilcox County Library branch.
New in Camden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Camden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $161K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $101K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $161K 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 5,392 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Wilcox County Library serves 10,059 people in and around Camden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Camden.
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 Camden
Does Camden have a public library?
Yes. Wilcox County Library, 100 Broad Street, serves 10,059 people in and around Camden (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilcox County 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 Camden’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Camden’s civic life grade?
C Camden is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Camden.
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.