Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Colquitt’s library is a branch of Southwest Georgia Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 72% of systems its size
Colquitt’s library is the James W. Merritt, Jr. Memorial Library, a branch of Southwest Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 43,930 people and lent 111K items last year.
Colquitt’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Southwest Georgia Regional Library System sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Georgia pays a big share
34% of the budget comes from the state, and 64% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Southwest Georgia Regional Library System offered 249 programs last year, 5.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 249 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 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; Colquitt’s library is a branch of Southwest Georgia Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (43,930 people), not just the Colquitt branch.
What’s behind Colquitt’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Colquitt is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. Colquitt is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Colquitt’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($20K–$33K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Colquitt
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.8%
2.8% of Colquitt’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 Colquitt’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.
Southwest Georgia Regional Library System serves 43,930 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southwest Georgia Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
111K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,465 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
James W. Merritt, Jr. Memorial Library, 259 East Main Street, Colquitt.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Southwest Georgia Regional Library System branch.
New in Colquitt? 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Colquitt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 9,828 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. James W. Merritt, Jr. Memorial Library is one branch of Southwest Georgia Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 43,930 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 Colquitt
Does Colquitt have a public library?
Yes: James W. Merritt, Jr. Memorial Library, 259 East Main Street, is a branch of Southwest Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 43,930 people. The branch is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southwest Georgia 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 Colquitt’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Colquitt’s civic life grade?
D− Colquitt is ahead of 2% 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 Colquitt.
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.