Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Red Bay’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library serves Red Bay’s 3,205 residents. Last year it lent 4,119 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,011 visits.
Red Bay’s library, in brief
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library offered 4 programs last year, 1.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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.
What’s behind Red Bay’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Red Bay is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #140 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Red Bay’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library spends $17 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Red Bay
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.2%
2.2% of Red Bay’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 Red Bay’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library serves 3,205 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,119 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
849 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
4 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Red Bay last year.
Find it
Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library, 307 4th Avenue South, Red Bay.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Red Bay? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Red Bay cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $56K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $67K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $56K 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 1,644 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 Red Bay
Does Red Bay have a public library?
Yes. Red Bay - Weatherford Public Library, 307 4th Avenue South, serves Red Bay’s 3,205 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Red Bay - Weatherford 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 Red Bay’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Red Bay’s civic life grade?
D Red Bay is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #140 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 Red Bay.
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.