Photo: Bubba73 (Jud McCranie) · CC BY-SA 4.0Fort Valley’s library is a branch of Peach Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
Fort Valley’s library is the Thomas Public Library, a branch of Peach Public Libraries, which serves 29,125 people and lent 36K items last year.
Fort Valley’s library, in brief
The Peach Public Libraries system is used less than most libraries its size
The Peach Public Libraries system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 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 ↓
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 142 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 84% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 71% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Georgia pays a big share
34% of the budget comes from the state, and 55% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Peach Public Libraries system offered 142 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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; Fort Valley’s library is a branch of Peach Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (29,125 people), not just the Fort Valley branch.
What’s behind Fort Valley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fort Valley is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #172 of 222 in Georgia. Fort Valley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Fort Valley’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Peach Public Libraries spends $19 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Fort Valley
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.8%
2.8% of Fort Valley’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 Fort Valley’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.
Peach Public Libraries serves 29,125 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Peach Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,161 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
Thomas Public Library, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Fort Valley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Peach Public Libraries branch.
New in Fort Valley? 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 Fort Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $561K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $484K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $561K 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 6,604 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Thomas Public Library is one branch of Peach Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 29,125 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 Fort Valley
Does Fort Valley have a public library?
Yes: Thomas Public Library, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is a branch of Peach Public Libraries, which serves 29,125 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Peach Public Libraries 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 Fort Valley’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fort Valley’s civic life grade?
D Fort Valley is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #172 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 Fort Valley.
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.