Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Eastman’s library is a branch of Ocmulgee Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Eastman’s library is the Dodge County - Murrell Memorial Library, a branch of Ocmulgee Regional Library System, which serves 69,236 people and lent 75K items last year.
The short version on Eastman’s library
The Ocmulgee Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Ocmulgee Regional Library System records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Georgia pays a big share
61% of the budget comes from the state, and 31% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Ocmulgee Regional Library System offered 181 programs last year, 2.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 181 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week 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; Eastman’s library is a branch of Ocmulgee Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (69,236 people), not just the Eastman branch.
What’s behind Eastman’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eastman is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #27 of 222 in Georgia. Eastman is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Eastman’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Eastman
3.0 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Eastman’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 Eastman’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.
Ocmulgee Regional Library System serves 69,236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ocmulgee Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,565 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
Dodge County - Murrell Memorial Library, 531 Second Avenue, Eastman.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ocmulgee Regional Library System branch.
New in Eastman? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eastman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 13,871 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dodge County - Murrell Memorial Library is one branch of Ocmulgee Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 69,236 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 Eastman
Does Eastman have a public library?
Yes: Dodge County - Murrell Memorial Library, 531 Second Avenue, is a branch of Ocmulgee Regional Library System, which serves 69,236 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ocmulgee 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 Eastman’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Eastman’s civic life grade?
C+ Eastman is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 Eastman.
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.