Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Macon-Bibb County’s library is a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Macon-Bibb County’s library is the Washington Memorial Library, a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 270,784 people and lent 623K items last year.
Macon-Bibb County’s library, in brief
Open about 66 hours a week
The Macon-Bibb County branch is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Georgia pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Five branches in Macon-Bibb County
Macon-Bibb County has five branches of the Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 270,784 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
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; Macon-Bibb County’s library is a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (270,784 people), not just the Macon-Bibb County branch.
What’s behind Macon-Bibb County’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Macon-Bibb County is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #102 of 222 in Georgia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #214. Macon-Bibb County is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Macon-Bibb County’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) 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 →
510 community nonprofits are registered in Macon-Bibb County
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (200 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 24 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.5%
5.5% of Macon-Bibb County’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 Macon-Bibb County’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Middle Georgia Regional Library System serves 270,784 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
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.
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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
623K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
132,353 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 25 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.
5 places to borrow in Macon-Bibb County
Washington Memorial Library, 1180 Washington Avenue, Macon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Middle Georgia Regional Library System branch.
New in Macon-Bibb County? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Middle Georgia Regional Library System branches in Macon-Bibb County
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 Macon-Bibb County cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.7M.
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.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macon-Bibb County | Washington Memorial Library | — | 66 | C− |
| Warner Robins | Nola Brantley Memorial Library | — | 46 | C− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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. Washington Memorial 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 Macon-Bibb County
Does Macon-Bibb County have a public library?
Yes: Washington Memorial Library, 1180 Washington Avenue, is a branch of Middle Georgia Regional Library System, which serves 270,784 people. The branch is open about 66 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 Macon-Bibb County’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 Macon-Bibb County’s civic life grade?
C− Macon-Bibb County is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #102 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 Macon-Bibb County.
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.