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2021-03-12 Tallassee, AL - City HallPhoto: Rivers Langley · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tallassee Community Public Library

Tallassee’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Tallassee Community Public Library serves Tallassee’s 4,767 residents. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.

99 Freeman Avenue, Tallassee 36078 · about 45 hours a week
DCivic lifeAhead of 15% of U.S. towns · #98 of 156 in Alabama. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
18K
3.7 per resident
Visits a year
13K
2.6 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
59
about 1 a week · 1,525 attended
Cardholders
61%
2,885 cards
Open
45 hrs
a week
In brief

Tallassee’s library, in brief

Most programs are for young children

71% of the 59 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 29 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

A big collection for the borrowing it gets

Tallassee Community Public Library holds 36,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Tallassee’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tallassee is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #98 of 156 in Alabama. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.

D
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Tallassee’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 15%
FewerMore
Alabama towns we grade (156)Ahead of 37%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $50K–$83K (8,740)Ahead of 14%

Tallassee Community Public Library spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. Tallassee is small (4,738 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

15 community nonprofits are registered in Tallassee

2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans40.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services30.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

3.9%

3.9% of Tallassee’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 Tallassee’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 3Lower than 56%
Borrowing per resident 2.8 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 65%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1Lower than 52%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 53%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 66%
Programs offered 12.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 81%
Cardholders 61% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 72%
Spending $24 per resident · typical $43Lower than 79%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in AL#35Most-used librariesof 71 towns
#40Most library borrowingof 70 towns
#34Best libraries for kidsof 70 towns
Size group

Tallassee Community Public Library serves 4,767 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

13K
visits
2.6 per resident
18K
loans, print + digital
3.7 per resident
59
programs & events
1,525 attended
2,885
library cards
61% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week29people at a program
Every day30Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers36K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

18Kloans
Books & media (adults) 36%Kids’ books & media 39%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
How hard the shelves work
0.4×

Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.

From your couch

4,411 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

59 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Tallassee →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–529
Ages 6–1113
Teens0
Adults8
All ages9
Little ones
0.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
7

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Tallassee last year.

1,525
people at programs
59
programs
The building

Find it

Tallassee Community Public Library, 99 Freeman Avenue, Tallassee.

45
hours open a week
5,619
square feet
36K
books & media
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Tallassee? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.67 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tallassee cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$24 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $115K.

Local taxes 87%State 3%Gifts & other 10%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $308K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $115K 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 2,885 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Tallassee

Does Tallassee have a public library?

Yes. Tallassee Community Public Library, 99 Freeman Avenue, serves Tallassee’s 4,767 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Tallassee Community 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 Tallassee’s library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Tallassee’s civic life grade?

D Tallassee is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #98 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 Tallassee.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.