Ragland’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ragland Public Library serves Ragland’s 8,753 residents. Last year it lent 3,903 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,223 visits.
The short version on Ragland’s library
Ragland Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Ragland Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $4 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Ragland Public Library offered 35 programs last year, 4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
Ragland Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Federal money pays a real share
9% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Ragland Public Library spends $4 per resident, less than 99% 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 Ragland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ragland is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns. Ragland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Ragland Public Library spends $4 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($28K–$47K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Ragland
1.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.4%
5.4% of Ragland’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 Ragland’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ragland Public Library serves 8,753 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,903 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
35 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Ragland last year.
Find it
Ragland Public Library, 26 Providence Road, Ragland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ragland? 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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ragland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $69K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 2,247 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 Ragland
Does Ragland have a public library?
Yes. Ragland Public Library, 26 Providence Road, serves Ragland’s 8,753 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ragland 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 Ragland’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ragland’s civic life grade?
D− Ragland is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Ragland.
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.