Photo: Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0Elberta’s library runs 3.9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Elberta Public Library serves Elberta’s 2,050 residents. Last year it lent 6,510 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,750 visits.
Elberta’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Elberta 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
Elberta Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Elberta Public Library serves 2,050 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 35 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Runs on less money than most
Elberta Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Elberta Public Library holds 22,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Elberta’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Elberta is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Elberta Public Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$69K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Elberta
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Elberta’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 Elberta’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elberta Public Library serves 2,050 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,510 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 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 Elberta last year.
Find it
Elberta Public Library, 13052 Main Street, Elberta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elberta? 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 $3.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elberta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $102K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 640 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 Elberta
Does Elberta have a public library?
Yes. Elberta Public Library, 13052 Main Street, serves Elberta’s 2,050 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elberta 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 Elberta’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elberta’s civic life grade?
C− Elberta is ahead of 19% 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 Elberta.
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.