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Harold S. Swindle Public Library · part of Piedmont Regional Library System

Nicholson’s library is a branch of Piedmont Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 57% of systems its size

Nicholson’s library is the Harold S. Swindle Public Library, a branch of Piedmont Regional Library System, which serves 205,263 people and lent 745K items last year.

5466 U.S. Highway 441 South, Nicholson 30565 · about 39 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 21% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (706) 757-3577 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
745K
3.6 per resident
Visits a year
361K
1.8 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,107
about 60 a week · 99K attended
Cardholders
48%
98,006 cards
Open
39 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Nicholson’s library is like

Georgia pays a big share

21% of the budget comes from the state, and 74% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 54% 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; Nicholson’s library is a branch of Piedmont Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (205,263 people), not just the Nicholson branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Nicholson’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nicholson is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. Nicholson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Nicholson’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.2 per 1,000 residents · GA towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7C+Volunteering7.1% of adults 25–44 · GA towns 4.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 21%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,582)Ahead of 22%

Piedmont Regional Library System spends $18 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Nicholson is small (1,941 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

5 community nonprofits are registered in Nicholson

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

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

7.1%

7.1% of Nicholson’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 Nicholson’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 27 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Nicholson →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5666
Ages 6–11760
Teens190
Adults1,020
All ages471
Little ones
12.8

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

358K
kids’ books & media borrowed
99K
people at programs
3,107
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.8 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 65%
Borrowing per resident 2.8 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 57%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 1.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 54%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 89%
Programs offered 15.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 78%
Cardholders 48% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 65%
Spending $18 per resident · typical $36Lower than 82%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Piedmont Regional Library System serves 205,263 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out

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

361K
visits
1.8 per resident
745K
loans, print + digital
3.6 per resident
3,107
programs & events
99K attended
98K
library cards
48% of people served
Every open hour33items borrowed
Every week1,909people at a program
Every day340Wi-Fi sessions
50 staff (full-time equivalent)175 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

745K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

745Kloans
Books & media (adults) 30%Kids’ books & media 48%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

162,502 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Harold S. Swindle Public Library, 5466 U.S. Highway 441 South, Nicholson.

Directions(706) 757-3577
39
hours open a week
7,571
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Piedmont Regional Library System branch.

New in Nicholson? 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 $3.15 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nicholson 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
$18 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.8M.

Local taxes 74%State 21%Federal 0%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M budget.

Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.

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 98,006 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. Harold S. Swindle Public Library is one branch of Piedmont Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 205,263 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 Nicholson

Does Nicholson have a public library?

Yes: Harold S. Swindle Public Library, 5466 U.S. Highway 441 South, is a branch of Piedmont Regional Library System, which serves 205,263 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Piedmont Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Nicholson’s library?

It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Nicholson’s civic life grade?

C− Nicholson is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Nicholson.

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.