Rosecrans, Gen. William, Headquarters · Photo: Nettieintheboro · CC BY-SA 4.0Stevenson’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Stevenson Public Library serves Stevenson’s 5,153 residents. Last year it lent 2,590 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,763 visits.
The short version on Stevenson’s library
Stevenson Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Stevenson Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 98 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Alabama pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 69% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Stevenson Public Library spends $9 per resident, less than 96% 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 Stevenson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stevenson is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. Stevenson 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.
Stevenson Public Library spends $9 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($40K–$67K) 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 Stevenson
0.8 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Stevenson’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 Stevenson’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.
Stevenson Public Library serves 5,153 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
2,590 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K 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.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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 Stevenson last year.
Find it
Stevenson Public Library, 102 West Main Street, Stevenson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stevenson? 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 $1.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stevenson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $54K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 4,239 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevenson | Stevenson Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 33 | D− |
| Bridgeport | Bridgeport - Lena Cagle Public Library | — | 21 | 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.
- 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 Stevenson
Does Stevenson have a public library?
Yes. Stevenson Public Library, 102 West Main Street, serves Stevenson’s 5,153 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stevenson 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 Stevenson’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Stevenson’s civic life grade?
D− Stevenson is ahead of 2% 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 Stevenson.
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.