Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Marion

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Kenworthy HallKenworthy Hall · Photo: RuralSWAlabama · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marion - Perry County Public Library

Marion’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Marion - Perry County Public Library serves 4,790 people in and around Marion. Last year it lent 2,622 print books and media and logged 6,095 visits.

202 Washington Street, Marion 36756 · about 28 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 45% of U.S. towns · #27 of 156 in Alabama. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (334) 683-6411 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2,622
0.5 per resident
Visits a year
6,095
1.3 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
181
about 3 a week · 931 attended
Cardholders
90%
4,291 cards
Open
28 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Marion’s library is like

Marion - Perry County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Marion - Perry County Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes

60% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓

Nearly everyone the system serves has a card

4,291 cards for 4,790 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓

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; Marion - Perry County Public Library serves 4,790 people in and around Marion, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Marion’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Marion is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #27 of 156 in Alabama. Marion is graded on two of the three inputs. Marion’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureACommunity nonprofits7.2 per 1,000 residents · AL towns 2.6 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.1% of adults 25–44 · AL towns 4.8% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 45%
FewerMore
Alabama towns we grade (156)Ahead of 83%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $27K–$45K (1,162)Ahead of 62%

Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$45K) it does better, ahead of 62%.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Marion is small (2,602 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

21 community nonprofits are registered in Marion

7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans51.73 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services41.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education62.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.69 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

4.1%

4.1% of Marion’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 Marion’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.3 visits · typical 3Lower than 83%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 79%
Programs offered 37.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 54%
Cardholders 90% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 87%
Spending $16 per resident · typical $43Lower than 89%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Marion - Perry County Public Library serves 4,790 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marion - Perry County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

6,095
visits
1.3 per resident
2,622
loans, print + digital
0.5 per resident
181
programs & events
931 attended
4,291
library cards
90% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week18people at a program
Every day17Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

2,622 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

2,622loans
Books & media (adults) 46%Kids’ books & media 54%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Marion →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–550
Ages 6–1115
Teens25
Adults61
All ages30
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1,426
kids’ books & media borrowed
931
people at programs
181
programs
The building

Find it

Marion - Perry County Public Library, 202 Washington Street, Marion.

Directions(334) 683-6411
28
hours open a week
2,100
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marion - Perry County Public Library branch.

New in Marion? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marion cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$16 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $77K.

Local taxes 30%State 7%Federal 3%Gifts & other 60%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K 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 4,291 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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.
  • System-wide. Marion - Perry County Public Library serves 4,790 people in and around Marion, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Marion.

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 Marion

Does Marion have a public library?

Yes. Marion - Perry County Public Library, 202 Washington Street, serves 4,790 people in and around Marion (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Marion - Perry County 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 Marion’s library?

It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Marion’s civic life grade?

C+ Marion is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 Marion.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.