Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0Bowman’s library is a branch of Elbert County Public Library System, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Bowman’s library is the Bowman Service Outlet, a branch of Elbert County Public Library System, which serves 20,105 people and lent 40K items last year.
Bowman’s library, in brief
Georgia pays a big share
44% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Elbert County Public Library System offered 179 programs last year, 8.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Bowman’s library is a branch of Elbert County Public Library System, so they cover the whole system (20,105 people), not just the Bowman branch.
What’s behind Bowman’s civic life grade
Bowman isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Elbert County Public Library System serves 20,105 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elbert County Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,812 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Bowman Service Outlet, 21 Prince Avenue, Bowman.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elbert County Public Library System branch.
New in Bowman? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bowman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $331K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $674K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $331K 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 8,605 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bowman Service Outlet is one branch of Elbert County Public Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,105 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 Bowman
Does Bowman have a public library?
Yes: Bowman Service Outlet, 21 Prince Avenue, is a branch of Elbert County Public Library System, which serves 20,105 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elbert County Public 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 Bowman’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bowman’s civic life grade?
Bowman isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bowman.
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.