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Cumming Public School-Cumming High SchoolCumming Public School-Cumming High School · Photo: Bruce Warmbrod · CC BY-SA 3.0
Forsyth County Public Library

Cumming’s library lends 8.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size

Forsyth County Public Library serves 279,366 people in and around Cumming. Last year it lent 2.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 764K visits.

585 Dahlonega Street, Cumming 30040 · about 65 hours a week
DCivic lifeAhead of 12% of U.S. towns · #151 of 222 in Georgia. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (770) 781-9840 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2.8M
10 per resident
Visits a year
764K
2.7 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
2,161
about 42 a week · 95K attended
Cardholders
34%
95,724 cards
Open
65 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Cumming’s library is like

More than half the print loans are for kids

Children’s books and media are 71% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓

A system of heavy borrowers

Forsyth County Public Library lends 8.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

Open about 65 hours a week

The Cumming branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓

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; Forsyth County Public Library serves 279,366 people in and around Cumming, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Cumming’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cumming is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #151 of 222 in Georgia. Cumming is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Cumming’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

D
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Cumming’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.4 per 1,000 residents · GA towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7C−Volunteering5.6% of adults 25–44 · GA towns 4.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 12%
FewerMore
Georgia towns we grade (222)Ahead of 32%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $64K–$107K (8,711)Ahead of 11%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

20 community nonprofits are registered in Cumming

2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.26 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education50.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.12 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other30.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

5.6%

5.6% of Cumming’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 Cumming’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 25 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Cumming →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5951
Ages 6–11367
Teens194
Adults586
All ages63
Little ones
18.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1.6M
kids’ books & media borrowed
95K
people at programs
2,161
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 70%
Borrowing per resident 8.2 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 89%
Digital borrowing 1.8 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 5.8 kids’ items · typical 1.6Top 10%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 76%
Programs offered 7.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Lower than 62%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 64%
Spending $34 per resident · typical $36Lower than 53%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Forsyth County Public Library serves 279,366 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 205 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Forsyth County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

764K
visits
2.7 per resident
2.8M
loans, print + digital
10 per resident
2,161
programs & events
95K attended
96K
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour205items borrowed
Every week1,825people at a program
Every day652Wi-Fi sessions
91 staff (full-time equivalent)133 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

2.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

2.8Mloans
Books & media (adults) 23%Kids’ books & media 58%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
From your couch

514,439 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Forsyth County Public Library, 585 Dahlonega Street, Cumming.

Directions(770) 781-9840
65
hours open a week
41,500
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Forsyth County Public Library branch.

New in Cumming? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.22 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cumming cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$34 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.5M.

Local taxes 85%State 11%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.5M 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 95,724 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Forsyth County Public Library serves 279,366 people in and around Cumming, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cumming.

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 Cumming

Does Cumming have a public library?

Yes. Forsyth County Public Library, 585 Dahlonega Street, serves 279,366 people in and around Cumming (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Forsyth County Public Library 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 Cumming’s library?

It logged 2.7 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Cumming’s civic life grade?

D Cumming is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #151 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 Cumming.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.