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East Wilkinson County Public Library · part of Middle Georgia Regional Library System

Irwinton’s library is a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size

Irwinton’s library is the East Wilkinson County Public Library, a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 270,784 people and lent 623K items last year.

154 E. Main Street, Irwinton 31042 · about 38 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
623K
2.3 per resident
Visits a year
375K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,199
about 62 a week · 42K attended
Cardholders
47%
127,502 cards
Open
38 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about East Wilkinson County Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Irwinton’s civic life grade

Irwinton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Irwinton’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 79%
Borrowing per resident 1.8 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 79%
Digital borrowing 0.5 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 84%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 74%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 71%
Programs offered 11.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 62%
Cardholders 47% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 63%
Spending $25 per resident · typical $36Lower than 70%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Middle Georgia Regional Library System serves 270,784 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

A year at Middle Georgia Regional Library System

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Middle Georgia Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.

375K
visits
1.4 per resident
623K
loans, print + digital
2.3 per resident
3,199
programs & events
42K attended
128K
library cards
47% of people served
Every week807people at a program
Every day389Wi-Fi sessions
83 staff (full-time equivalent)235 public computers

Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.

What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

623K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

623Kloans
Books & media (adults) 38%Kids’ books & media 41%E-books, audio & streaming 21%
From your couch

132,353 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

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 Irwinton →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5548
Ages 6–11736
Teens359
Adults619
All ages937
Little ones
10.5

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

255K
kids’ books & media borrowed
42K
people at programs
3,199
programs
The building

Find it

East Wilkinson County Public Library, 154 E. Main Street, Irwinton.

38
hours open a week
3,305
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Middle Georgia Regional Library System branch.

New in Irwinton? 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 $1.48 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$25 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.7M.

Local taxes 73%State 22%Federal 0%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.7M 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 127,502 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
  • System-wide. East Wilkinson County Public Library is one branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 270,784 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 Irwinton

Does Irwinton have a public library?

Yes: East Wilkinson County Public Library, 154 E. Main Street, is a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 270,784 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Middle 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 Irwinton’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Irwinton’s civic life grade?

Irwinton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Irwinton.

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.