Fultondale’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Fultondale Public Library serves Fultondale’s 9,677 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 43K visits.
What Fultondale’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 70% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 17%. A year at the library ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Fultondale’s library lends 1.5 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Gardendale at 8.1. Libraries next door ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Fultondale Public Library offered 38 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Fultondale Public Library holds 31,000 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.
What’s behind Fultondale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fultondale is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns, #62 of 156 in Alabama. Library visits hold the grade up; Fultondale’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Fultondale
2.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.7%
5.7% of Fultondale’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 Fultondale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Fultondale Public Library serves 9,677 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
38 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 Fultondale last year.
Find it
Fultondale Public Library, 500 Byrd Lane, Fultondale.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fultondale? 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 Fultondale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $503K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $228K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $503K 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 2,362 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Fultondale ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardendale | Gardendale - Martha Moore Public Library | 8.1 | 54 | C |
| Tarrant | Tarrant Public Library | 3.2 | 38 | D |
| Birmingham | Birmingham Public - Central Branch | 3.2 | 52 | B |
| Fultondale | Fultondale Public Library | 1.5 | 46 | C |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Fultondale Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Fultondale
Does Fultondale have a public library?
Yes. Fultondale Public Library, 500 Byrd Lane, serves Fultondale’s 9,677 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fultondale 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 Fultondale’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fultondale’s civic life grade?
C Fultondale is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 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 Fultondale.
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.