Photo: Nhlarry at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0New Hope’s library is a branch of Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size
New Hope’s library is the Huntsville Public - New Hope Public Library, a branch of Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, which serves 403,565 people and lent 3M items last year.
New Hope’s library, in brief
Busy on a lean budget
The Huntsville - Madison County Public Library system spends $20 per resident, less than 79% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). It’s still busier than 81% of them. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; New Hope’s library is a branch of Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (403,565 people), not just the New Hope branch.
What’s behind New Hope’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Hope is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #82 of 156 in Alabama. New Hope is graded on two of the three inputs. New Hope’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Huntsville - Madison County Public Library spends $20 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in New Hope
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
4.1%
4.1% of New Hope’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 New Hope’s residents live; 2022.
About 55 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Huntsville - Madison County Public Library serves 403,565 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 122 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Huntsville - Madison County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
447,924 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Huntsville Public - New Hope Public Library, 5398 Main Drive, New Hope.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Huntsville - Madison County Public Library branch.
New in New Hope? 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 $5.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Hope cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $44M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.2M 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 138,266 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hope | Huntsville Public - New Hope Public Library fine-free | — | 36 | C− |
| Owens Cross Roads | None of its own | — | — | D |
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. Huntsville Public - New Hope Public Library is one branch of Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 403,565 people it serves.
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 New Hope
Does New Hope have a public library?
Yes: Huntsville Public - New Hope Public Library, 5398 Main Drive, is a branch of Huntsville - Madison County Public Library, which serves 403,565 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Huntsville - Madison 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 New Hope’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is New Hope’s civic life grade?
C− New Hope is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #82 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 New Hope.
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.