Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Center Point’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Center Point Public Library serves Center Point’s 15,887 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 6,000 visits.
Center Point’s library, in brief
Center Point Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Center Point Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Center Point Public Library offered 132 programs last year, 8.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 132 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 48 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 Center Point’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Center Point is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #148 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Center Point’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Center Point Public Library spends $23 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–$71K) 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Center Point
2.3 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.7%
3.7% of Center Point’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 Center Point’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Center Point Public Library serves 15,887 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
132 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 Center Point last year.
Find it
Center Point Public Library, 533 Sunhill Road, Center Point.
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 Center Point? 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 Center Point cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $366K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $231K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $366K 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 3,378 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Center Point ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinson | Pinson Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 53 | C |
| Birmingham | Birmingham Public - Central Branch | 3.2 | 52 | B |
| Center Point | Center Point Public Library fine-free | 0.9 | 56 | D− |
| Grayson Valley | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Clay | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Center Point 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 Center Point
Does Center Point have a public library?
Yes. Center Point Public Library, 533 Sunhill Road, serves Center Point’s 15,887 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Center Point 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 Center Point’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Center Point’s civic life grade?
D− Center Point is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #148 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 Center Point.
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.