Dickinson House · Photo: Altairisfar · Public domainGrove Hill’s library runs 66 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Grove Hill Public Library serves Grove Hill’s 5,969 residents. Last year it lent 5,387 books, movies and e-books and logged 8,944 visits.
What Grove Hill’s library is like
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
33% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 51%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Grove Hill Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 93% 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 Grove Hill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grove Hill is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns. Grove Hill is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Grove Hill’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Grove Hill Public Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$74K) 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 Grove Hill
2.6 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.8%
3.8% of Grove Hill’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 Grove Hill’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Grove Hill Public Library serves 5,969 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.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
5,387 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,063 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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 Grove Hill last year.
Find it
Grove Hill Public Library, 108 Dubose Avenue, Grove Hill.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Grove Hill? 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 $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grove Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $77K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $151K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $77K 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 4,297 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 Grove Hill
Does Grove Hill have a public library?
Yes. Grove Hill Public Library, 108 Dubose Avenue, serves Grove Hill’s 5,969 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grove Hill 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 Grove Hill’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Grove Hill’s civic life grade?
D Grove Hill is ahead of 7% 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 Grove Hill.
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.