Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Leighton’s library runs 4.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Leighton Public Library serves Leighton’s 4,845 residents. Last year it lent 7,987 books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
What Leighton’s library is like
Alabama pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Leighton Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Leighton Public Library offered 20 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Leighton Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Leighton Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 95% 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 Leighton’s civic life grade
Leighton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Leighton Public Library serves 4,845 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,987 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,147 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
20 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 Leighton last year.
Find it
Leighton Public Library, 8740 Main Street, Leighton.
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 Leighton? 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 $3.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Leighton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $163K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 273 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 Leighton
Does Leighton have a public library?
Yes. Leighton Public Library, 8740 Main Street, serves Leighton’s 4,845 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leighton 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 Leighton’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Leighton’s civic life grade?
Leighton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Leighton.
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.