Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0Eufaula’s library runs 4.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Eufaula Carnegie Library serves 14,626 people in and around Eufaula. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Eufaula’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Eufaula Carnegie Library offered 65 programs last year, 4.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Eufaula Carnegie Library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Eufaula Carnegie Library serves 14,626 people in and around Eufaula, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Eufaula’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Eufaula is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #81 of 156 in Alabama. Eufaula’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 ($36K–$59K) 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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Eufaula
4.3 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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.2%
2.2% of Eufaula’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 Eufaula’s residents live; 2022.
43% of borrowing is digital
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,728 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Eufaula Carnegie Library serves 14,626 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eufaula Carnegie Library system. The library’s own count.
65 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Eufaula Carnegie Library, 217 North Eufaula Avenue, Eufaula.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Eufaula Carnegie Library branch.
New in Eufaula? 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 Eufaula cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $462K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $358K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $462K 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 8,730 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eufaula | Eufaula Carnegie Library fine-free | — | 51 | C− |
| Georgetown | Quitman County Library | — | 19 | 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. Eufaula Carnegie Library serves 14,626 people in and around Eufaula, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Eufaula.
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 Eufaula
Does Eufaula have a public library?
Yes. Eufaula Carnegie Library, 217 North Eufaula Avenue, serves 14,626 people in and around Eufaula (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eufaula Carnegie 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 Eufaula’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Eufaula’s civic life grade?
C− Eufaula is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #81 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 Eufaula.
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.