Photo: John Trainor from Roswell, GA, USA · CC BY 2.0McDonough’s library is a branch of Henry County Library System, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
McDonough’s library is the Mcdonough Public Library, a branch of Henry County Library System, which serves 257,669 people and lent 466K items last year.
The short version on McDonough’s library
The Henry County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Henry County Library System records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Henry County Library System spends $14 per resident, less than 92% 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 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 81% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; McDonough’s library is a branch of Henry County Library System, so they cover the whole system (257,669 people), not just the McDonough branch.
What’s behind McDonough’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McDonough is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #80 of 222 in Georgia. McDonough is graded on two of the three inputs. McDonough’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Henry County Library System spends $14 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$94K) 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 →
122 community nonprofits are registered in McDonough
4.0 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 (40 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.7%
4.7% of McDonough’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 McDonough’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Henry County Library System serves 257,669 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Henry County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
466K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
135,664 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 19 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
Mcdonough Public Library, 1001 Florence Mcgarity Blvd, Mcdonough.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Henry County Library System branch.
New in McDonough? 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 $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McDonough cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 122,932 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mcdonough Public Library is one branch of Henry County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 257,669 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 McDonough
Does McDonough have a public library?
Yes: Mcdonough Public Library, 1001 Florence Mcgarity Blvd, is a branch of Henry County Library System, which serves 257,669 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Henry County 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 McDonough’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is McDonough’s civic life grade?
C− McDonough is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #80 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 McDonough.
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.