Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Newton’s library is a branch of De Soto Trail Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Newton’s library is the Baker County Library, a branch of De Soto Trail Regional Library System, which serves 34,307 people and lent 46K items last year.
What Newton’s library is like
Georgia pays a big share
62% of the budget comes from the state, and 32% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
The De Soto Trail Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The De Soto Trail Regional Library System records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
The Newton branch keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 723 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.7 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Newton’s library is a branch of De Soto Trail Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (34,307 people), not just the Newton branch.
What’s behind Newton’s civic life grade
Newton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
De Soto Trail Regional Library System serves 34,307 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole De Soto Trail Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
46K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,427 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Baker County Library, 100 Main Street, Newton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every De Soto Trail Regional Library System branch.
New in Newton? 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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $621K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $943K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $621K 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 9,115 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Baker County Library is one branch of De Soto Trail Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 34,307 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 Newton
Does Newton have a public library?
Yes: Baker County Library, 100 Main Street, is a branch of De Soto Trail Regional Library System, which serves 34,307 people. The branch is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is De Soto Trail 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 Newton’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Newton’s civic life grade?
Newton 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 Newton.
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.