Photo: Linda Roy Walls · CC BY-SA 4.0Laurel’s library runs 71 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Laurel Public Library serves Laurel’s 15,914 residents. Last year it lent 66K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
Laurel’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Laurel Public Library ran 1,131 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 71 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 52%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 1,131 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 241 were for children. 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 Laurel’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Laurel is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #19 of 22 in Delaware. Laurel is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Laurel’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$61K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Laurel
3.0 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.3%
5.3% of Laurel’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Delaware 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 Laurel’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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 Laurel last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Laurel Public Library serves 15,914 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
66K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
8,457 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Laurel Public Library, 101 E. Fourth St., Laurel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Laurel? 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 $2.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Laurel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $551K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $551K 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 4,330 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 Laurel
Does Laurel have a public library?
Yes. Laurel Public Library, 101 E. Fourth St., serves Laurel’s 15,914 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laurel 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 Laurel’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Laurel’s civic life grade?
C− Laurel is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 of 22 in Delaware. 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 Laurel.
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.