Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Gadsden’s library runs 21 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library serves 64,951 people in and around Gadsden from 3 locations. Last year it lent 94K books, movies and e-books and logged 115K visits.
What Gadsden’s library is like
Programs lean toward adults
65% of the 1,395 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 135 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library serves 64,951 people in and around Gadsden, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Gadsden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gadsden is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #2 of 156 in Alabama. Gadsden is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
186 community nonprofits are registered in Gadsden
5.6 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 (49 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.0%
12.0% of Gadsden’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 Gadsden’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library serves 64,951 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
94K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24,975 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs 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.
3 places to borrow in Gadsden
Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library, 254 College Street, Gadsden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library branch.
New in Gadsden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library branches in Gadsden
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gadsden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 22,802 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow City | Rainbow City Public Library | 8.0 | 53 | B |
| Attalla | Attalla - Etowah County Public Library | 0.4 | 41 | C− |
| Glencoe | Glencoe Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 28 | C |
| Gadsden | Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A |
| Tidmore Bend | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Reece City | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library serves 64,951 people in and around Gadsden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gadsden.
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 Gadsden
Does Gadsden have a public library?
Yes. Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library, 254 College Street, serves 64,951 people in and around Gadsden (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gadsden - Etowah 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 Gadsden’s library?
It logged 1.8 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 Gadsden’s civic life grade?
A Gadsden is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Gadsden.
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.