Centre’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cherokee County Public Library serves 3,664 people in and around Centre. Last year it lent 53K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Centre’s library
More library cards than residents
8,850 cards for 3,664 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 ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Cherokee County Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 230 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 63 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; Cherokee County Public Library serves 3,664 people in and around Centre, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Centre’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Centre is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #15 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Centre
3.9 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.
4.9%
4.9% of Centre’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 Centre’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cherokee County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cherokee County Public Library serves 3,664 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
53K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,640 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, 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
Cherokee County Public Library, 310 Mary Street, Centre.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cherokee County Public Library branch.
New in Centre? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Centre cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $254K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $887K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $254K 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 8,850 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. Cherokee County Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Cherokee County Public Library serves 3,664 people in and around Centre, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Centre.
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 Centre
Does Centre have a public library?
Yes. Cherokee County Public Library, 310 Mary Street, serves 3,664 people in and around Centre (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cherokee County 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 Centre’s library?
It logged 12.1 visits and lent 14.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Centre’s civic life grade?
B Centre is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Centre.
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.