Summerdale’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library serves Summerdale’s 1,557 residents. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Summerdale’s library, in brief
Summerdale uses its library more than almost any town its size
Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library logs 8.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Summerdale has a card
1,477 cards for 1,557 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 117 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 43% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Summerdale invests in its library
Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library spends $110 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Summerdale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Summerdale is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; Summerdale’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Summerdale
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
6.3%
6.3% of Summerdale’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 Summerdale’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
2,000 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library serves 1,557 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Summerdale last year.
Find it
Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library, 202 West Broadway Street, Summerdale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Summerdale? 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 $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Summerdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $466K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 1,477 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Summerdale borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerdale | Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library fine-free | 17.9 | 46 | C+ |
| Robertsdale | Robertsdale Public Library | 14.8 | 42 | C+ |
| Foley | Foley Public Library | 13.6 | 56 | C+ |
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 Summerdale
Does Summerdale have a public library?
Yes. Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook Public Library, 202 West Broadway Street, serves Summerdale’s 1,557 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Summerdale - Marjorie Younce Snook 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 Summerdale’s library?
It logged 8.5 visits and lent 17.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Summerdale’s civic life grade?
C+ Summerdale is ahead of 42% 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 Summerdale.
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.