Photo: YonderStone · CC BY-SA 4.0Glencoe’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Glencoe Public Library serves Glencoe’s 5,370 residents. Last year it lent 2,240 print books and media and logged 1,978 visits.
What Glencoe’s library is like
Glencoe Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Glencoe Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $6 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Glencoe Public Library offered 53 programs last year, 9.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
89% of the 53 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 6 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Glencoe Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Glencoe’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Glencoe is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #63 of 156 in Alabama. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$86K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Glencoe
2.7 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.
9.9%
9.9% of Glencoe’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 Glencoe’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Glencoe Public Library serves 5,370 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,240 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 4,465 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.
53 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Glencoe last year.
Find it
Glencoe Public Library, 101 West Main Street, Glencoe.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Glencoe? 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 Glencoe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 2,346 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Glencoe ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southside | Southside Public Library | 2.3 | 32 | C− |
| Hokes Bluff | Hokes Bluff Public Library | 2.0 | 48 | C+ |
| Glencoe | Glencoe Public Library fine-free | 0.4 | 28 | C |
| Gadsden | Gadsden - Etowah County Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A |
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.
- 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 Glencoe
Does Glencoe have a public library?
Yes. Glencoe Public Library, 101 West Main Street, serves Glencoe’s 5,370 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glencoe 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 Glencoe’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Glencoe’s civic life grade?
C Glencoe is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #63 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 Glencoe.
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.