Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainMontgomery’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Montgomery City-County Public Library serves 226,361 people in and around Montgomery from 7 locations. Last year it lent 708K books, movies and e-books and logged 368K visits.
Montgomery’s library, in brief
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Seven branches in Montgomery
Montgomery has seven branches of the Montgomery City-County Public Library, which serves 226,361 people in and around Montgomery. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Montgomery City-County Public Library serves 226,361 people in and around Montgomery, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Montgomery’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Montgomery is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #53 of 156 in Alabama. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #167. Montgomery is graded on two of the three inputs. Montgomery’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 ($43K–$71K) 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 →
1,050 community nonprofits are registered in Montgomery
5.3 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 (241 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 52 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.8%
2.8% of Montgomery’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 Montgomery’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Montgomery City-County Public Library serves 226,361 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montgomery City-County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
708K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
336,954 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 22 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
7 places to borrow in Montgomery
Montgomery City-County Public Library - Juliette Hampton Mor, 245 High Street, Montgomery.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Montgomery City-County Public Library branch.
New in Montgomery? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Montgomery City-County Public Library branches in Montgomery
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montgomery cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.3M 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 144,746 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | Montgomery City-County Public Library - Juliette Hampton Mor | — | 62 | C |
| Pike Road | None of its own | — | — | B− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Montgomery City-County Public Library serves 226,361 people in and around Montgomery, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Montgomery.
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 Montgomery
Does Montgomery have a public library?
Yes. Montgomery City-County Public Library, 245 High Street, serves 226,361 people in and around Montgomery (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montgomery City-County 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 Montgomery’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Montgomery’s civic life grade?
C Montgomery is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Montgomery.
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.