Photo: Thomson M · CC BY 3.0Blue Ridge’s library is a branch of Mountain Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 64% of systems its size
Blue Ridge’s library is the Fannin County Public Library, a branch of Mountain Regional Library System, which serves 66,843 people and lent 254K items last year.
The short version on Blue Ridge’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Mountain Regional Library System sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Georgia pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 464 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.4 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Blue Ridge’s library is a branch of Mountain Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (66,843 people), not just the Blue Ridge branch.
What’s behind Blue Ridge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blue Ridge is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Blue Ridge is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Blue Ridge
5.6 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.
11.5%
11.5% of Blue Ridge’s 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 Blue Ridge’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mountain Regional Library System serves 66,843 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mountain Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
254K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
76,416 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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.
Find it
Fannin County Public Library, 400 West Main Street, Suite 104, Blue Ridge.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mountain Regional Library System branch.
New in Blue Ridge? 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 $2.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blue Ridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 19,987 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fannin County Public Library is one branch of Mountain Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 66,843 people it serves.
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 Blue Ridge
Does Blue Ridge have a public library?
Yes: Fannin County Public Library, 400 West Main Street, Suite 104, is a branch of Mountain Regional Library System, which serves 66,843 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mountain 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 Blue Ridge’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Blue Ridge’s civic life grade?
A Blue Ridge is ahead of 92% 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 Blue Ridge.
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.