Photo: Cantonga · CC BY-SA 4.0Canton’s library is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 66% of systems its size
Canton’s library is the R.T. Jones Memorial Library, a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which serves 361,084 people and lent 1.1M items last year.
The short version on Canton’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Sequoyah Regional Library System offered 1,113 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Sequoyah Regional Library System spends $16 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 57% of similar-size libraries. 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; Canton’s library is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (361,084 people), not just the Canton branch.
What’s behind Canton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Canton is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #95 of 222 in Georgia. Canton 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.
Sequoyah Regional Library System spends $16 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) 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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Canton
2.8 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 (25 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.4%
6.4% of Canton’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 Canton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Sequoyah Regional Library System serves 361,084 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sequoyah Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
262,508 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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.
2 places to borrow in Canton
R.T. Jones Memorial Library, 116 Brown Industrial Parkway, Canton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sequoyah Regional Library System branch.
New in Canton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Sequoyah Regional Library System branches in Canton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Canton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.7M 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 156,593 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | R.T. Jones Memorial Library | — | 53 | C− |
| Holly Springs | None of its own | — | — | C |
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. R.T. Jones Memorial Library is one branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 361,084 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 Canton
Does Canton have a public library?
Yes: R.T. Jones Memorial Library, 116 Brown Industrial Parkway, is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which serves 361,084 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sequoyah 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 Canton’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Canton’s civic life grade?
C− Canton is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Canton.
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.