Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Dawson’s library is a branch of Kinchafoonee Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Dawson’s library is the Terrell County Library, a branch of Kinchafoonee Regional Library System, which serves 27,598 people and lent 25K items last year.
The short version on Dawson’s library
Georgia pays a big share
58% of the budget comes from the state, and 32% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 551 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 132 were for children. 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; Dawson’s library is a branch of Kinchafoonee Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (27,598 people), not just the Dawson branch.
What’s behind Dawson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dawson is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #97 of 222 in Georgia. Dawson is graded on two of the three inputs. Dawson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Dawson
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.9%
2.9% of Dawson’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 Dawson’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Kinchafoonee Regional Library System serves 27,598 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kinchafoonee Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,340 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
Terrell County Library, 913 Forrester Drive, SE, Dawson.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kinchafoonee Regional Library System branch.
New in Dawson? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dawson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $951K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $705K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $951K 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 8,224 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Terrell County Library is one branch of Kinchafoonee Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,598 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 Dawson
Does Dawson have a public library?
Yes: Terrell County Library, 913 Forrester Drive, SE, is a branch of Kinchafoonee Regional Library System, which serves 27,598 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kinchafoonee 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 Dawson’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Dawson’s civic life grade?
C− Dawson is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #97 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 Dawson.
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.