Photo: Adrien Lamarre, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Public domainDemopolis’ library runs 5.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Demopolis Public Library serves Demopolis’s 11,884 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
What Demopolis’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 68 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 33 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Demopolis Public Library holds 31,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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.
What’s behind Demopolis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Demopolis is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #24 of 156 in Alabama. Demopolis is graded on two of the three inputs. Demopolis’ count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Demopolis
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (9 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.
5.3%
5.3% of Demopolis’ 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 Demopolis’ 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.
Demopolis Public Library serves 11,884 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
6,624 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
68 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 Demopolis last year.
Find it
Demopolis Public Library, 211 E. Washington Street, Demopolis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Demopolis? 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 $1.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Demopolis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $342K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $390K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $342K 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 5,376 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Demopolis
Does Demopolis have a public library?
Yes. Demopolis Public Library, 211 E. Washington Street, serves Demopolis’ 11,884 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Demopolis Public Library 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 Demopolis’ library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Demopolis’ civic life grade?
B− Demopolis is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #24 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 Demopolis.
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.