Henry W. Grady House · Photo: Fred D. Nichols, Photographer · Public domainAthens’ library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Athens Regional Library System serves 250,788 people in and around Athens from 5 locations. Last year it lent 984K books, movies and e-books and logged 542K visits.
Athens’s library, in brief
Open about 67 hours a week
The Athens branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Five branches in Athens
Athens has five branches of the Athens Regional Library System, which serves 250,788 people in and around Athens. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Athens Regional Library System serves 250,788 people in and around Athens, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Athens’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Athens is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #53 of 222 in Georgia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #146. Athens 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.
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 →
415 community nonprofits are registered in Athens
3.2 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 (95 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Athens’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.9% in the typical Georgia 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 Athens’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Athens Regional Library System serves 250,788 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Athens Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
984K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
270,266 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 28 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
5 places to borrow in Athens
Athens-Clarke County Library, 2025 Baxter Street, Athens.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Athens Regional Library System branch.
New in Athens? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Athens Regional Library System branches in Athens
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Athens cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 114,225 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | Athens-Clarke County Library | — | 67 | C |
| Winterville | Winterville Branch Library | — | 19 | B− |
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.
- System-wide. Athens Regional Library System serves 250,788 people in and around Athens, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Athens.
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 Athens
Does Athens have a public library?
Yes. Athens Regional Library System, 2025 Baxter Street, serves 250,788 people in and around Athens (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Athens Regional Library System 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 Athens’ library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Athens’ civic life grade?
C Athens is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 of 222 in Georgia. 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 Athens.
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.