Newbern’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Newbern Public Library serves Newbern’s 746 residents. Last year it lent 687 books, movies and e-books and logged 600 visits.
What Newbern’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
84% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 8%. What your card is worth ↓
Newbern Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Newbern Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Newbern Public Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Newbern Public Library serves 746 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Newbern’s civic life grade
Newbern 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Newbern Public Library serves 746 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Newbern Public Libary
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
687 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,530 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
23 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.
Find it
Newbern Public Libary, 7840 Alabama Highway 61, Newbern.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Newbern? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newbern cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K 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 465 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 Newbern
Does Newbern have a public library?
Yes. Newbern Public Library, 7840 Alabama Highway 61, serves Newbern’s 746 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newbern 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 Newbern’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Newbern’s civic life grade?
Newbern 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 Newbern.
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.