Jasper Downtown Historic District · Photo: Rudi Weikard · CC BY-SA 3.0Jasper’s library runs 3.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Jasper Public Library serves Jasper’s 14,338 residents. Last year it lent 45K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Jasper’s library
More library cards than residents
17,506 cards for 14,338 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Jasper Public Library offered 54 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 54 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 28 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Jasper Public Library holds 79,000 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 Jasper’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Jasper is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns, #60 of 156 in Alabama. Jasper’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Jasper
5.2 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of Jasper’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 Jasper’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jasper Public Library serves 14,338 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 79K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
12,115 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
54 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 Jasper last year.
2 places to borrow in Jasper
Jasper Public Library, 98 East 18th Street, Jasper.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jasper? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Jasper
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jasper cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $323K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $699K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $323K 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 17,506 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 Jasper
Does Jasper have a public library?
Yes. Jasper Public Library, 98 East 18th Street, serves Jasper’s 14,338 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jasper 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 Jasper’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Jasper’s civic life grade?
C Jasper is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 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 Jasper.
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.