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Griffeth-Pendley HouseGriffeth-Pendley House · Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pickens County Public Library · part of Sequoyah Regional Library System

Jasper’s library is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 66% of systems its size

Jasper’s library is the Pickens County Public Library, a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which serves 361,084 people and lent 1.1M items last year.

339 W Church Street, Jasper 30143 · about 61 hours a week
BCivic lifeAhead of 64% of U.S. towns · #10 of 222 in Georgia. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (706) 692-5411 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
1.1M
3.1 per resident
Visits a year
413K
1.1 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
1,113
about 21 a week · 33K attended
Cardholders
43%
156,593 cards
Open
61 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Jasper’s library

Few programs for a library this size

The Sequoyah Regional Library System offered 1,113 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

Runs on less money than most

The Sequoyah Regional Library System spends $16 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 57% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓

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; Jasper’s library is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (361,084 people), not just the Jasper branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Jasper’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jasper is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #10 of 222 in Georgia. Jasper is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Jasper’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.2 per 1,000 residents · GA towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7BVolunteering8.3% of adults 25–44 · GA towns 4.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 64%
FewerMore
Georgia towns we grade (222)Ahead of 96%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$66K (5,678)Ahead of 61%

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. Jasper is small (5,400 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; 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 Jasper

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

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.63 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans30.58 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services51.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.48 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.43 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.48 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

8.3%

8.3% of Jasper’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 Jasper’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.1 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 87%
Borrowing per resident 2.4 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 66%
Digital borrowing 0.7 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 74%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 57%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.2Bottom 10%
Programs offered 3.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Bottom 10%
Cardholders 43% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 54%
Spending $16 per resident · typical $36Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Sequoyah Regional Library System serves 361,084 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out

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

413K
visits
1.1 per resident
1.1M
loans, print + digital
3.1 per resident
1,113
programs & events
33K attended
157K
library cards
43% of people served
Every open hour59items borrowed
Every week640people at a program
Every day383Wi-Fi sessions
79 staff (full-time equivalent)178 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

1.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.1Mloans
Books & media (adults) 32%Kids’ books & media 44%E-books, audio & streaming 24%
From your couch

262,508 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 10 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Jasper →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5297
Ages 6–11227
Teens61
Adults236
All ages292
Little ones
5.7

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

491K
kids’ books & media borrowed
33K
people at programs
1,113
programs
The building

Find it

Pickens County Public Library, 339 W Church Street, Jasper.

Directions(706) 692-5411
61
hours open a week
18,200
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sequoyah Regional Library System branch.

New in Jasper? 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 $2.95 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jasper 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
$16 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.7M.

Local taxes 68%State 19%Federal 0%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $17M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.7M 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 156,593 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. Pickens County Public Library is one branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 361,084 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 Jasper

Does Jasper have a public library?

Yes: Pickens County Public Library, 339 W Church Street, is a branch of Sequoyah Regional Library System, which serves 361,084 people. The branch is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sequoyah 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 Jasper’s library?

It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Jasper’s civic life grade?

B Jasper is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Jasper.

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.