Cleburne County Courthouse · Photo: Wruple · CC BY-SA 3.0Heflin’s library lends 7.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Heflin - Lucile L. Morgan Public Library serves Heflin’s 3,455 residents. Last year it lent 25K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,292 visits.
Heflin’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
6,718 cards for 3,455 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Heflin last year. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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 Heflin’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Heflin is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #77 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Heflin - Lucile L. Morgan Public Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Heflin
2.3 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.8%
6.8% of Heflin’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 Heflin’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Heflin - Lucile L. Morgan Public Library serves 3,455 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
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, 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 Heflin last year.
2 places to borrow in Heflin
Heflin - Lucile Morgan Public Library, 541 Ross Street, Heflin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Heflin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Heflin
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $6.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Heflin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $61K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $390K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61K 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 6,718 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 Heflin
Does Heflin have a public library?
Yes. Heflin - Lucile L. Morgan Public Library, 541 Ross Street, serves Heflin’s 3,455 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Heflin - Lucile L. Morgan 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 Heflin’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Heflin’s civic life grade?
C− Heflin is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #77 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 Heflin.
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.