Photo: Dave warren80 · CC BY-SA 4.0Cullman’s library runs 3.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Cullman County Public Library serves 90,665 people in and around Cullman. Last year it lent 129K books, movies and e-books and logged 223K visits.
Cullman’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Cullman County Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Cullman County Public Library offered 287 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 287 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 74 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Cullman County Public Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Cullman County Public Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
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; Cullman County Public Library serves 90,665 people in and around Cullman, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cullman’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cullman is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #43 of 156 in Alabama. Cullman is graded on two of the three inputs. Cullman’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 ($46K–$77K) 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 →
109 community nonprofits are registered in Cullman
5.6 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 (24 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.
3.6%
3.6% of Cullman’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 Cullman’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Cullman County Public Library serves 90,665 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cullman County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
129K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
41,782 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
Cullman County Public Library, 200 Clark Street NE, Cullman.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cullman County Public Library branch.
New in Cullman? 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 $3.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cullman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $612K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $612K 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 32,761 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cullman | Cullman County Public Library fine-free | — | 50 | C |
| East Point | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Good Hope | 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.
- System-wide. Cullman County Public Library serves 90,665 people in and around Cullman, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cullman.
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 Cullman
Does Cullman have a public library?
Yes. Cullman County Public Library, 200 Clark Street NE, serves 90,665 people in and around Cullman (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cullman 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 Cullman’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cullman’s civic life grade?
C Cullman 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 Cullman.
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.