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Bulloch County CourthouseBulloch County Courthouse · Photo: Bubba73 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Statesboro Regional Public Libraries

Statesboro’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size

Statesboro Regional Public Libraries serves 181,925 people in and around Statesboro. Last year it lent 372K books, movies and e-books and logged 221K visits.

124 South Main Street, Statesboro 30458 · about 58 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 79% of U.S. towns · #4 of 222 in Georgia. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (912) 764-1341 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
372K
2 per resident
Visits a year
221K
1.2 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
1,018
about 20 a week · 20K attended
Cardholders
18%
33,370 cards
Open
58 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Statesboro’s library, in brief

Statesboro Regional Public Libraries is used less than most libraries its size

Statesboro Regional Public Libraries records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓

Georgia pays a big share

34% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Few residents carry a card

Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓

Runs on less money than most

Statesboro Regional Public Libraries spends $15 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓

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; Statesboro Regional Public Libraries serves 181,925 people in and around Statesboro, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Statesboro’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Statesboro is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #4 of 222 in Georgia. Statesboro 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.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Statesboro’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.5 per 1,000 residents · GA towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering9.7% of adults 25–44 · GA towns 4.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 79%
FewerMore
Georgia towns we grade (222)#4 of 222
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $34K–$56K (3,299)Ahead of 79%

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. 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

154 community nonprofits are registered in Statesboro

4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture70.20 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation130.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans351.04 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services351.02 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education200.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health120.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals40.12 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other270.79 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 (42 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

9.7%

9.7% of Statesboro’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 Statesboro’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.2 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 85%
Borrowing per resident 1.6 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 84%
Digital borrowing 0.4 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 86%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 76%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 85%
Programs offered 5.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Lower than 78%
Cardholders 18% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 89%
Spending $15 per resident · typical $36Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Statesboro Regional Public Libraries serves 181,925 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Statesboro Regional Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.

221K
visits
1.2 per resident
372K
loans, print + digital
2 per resident
1,018
programs & events
20K attended
33K
library cards
18% of people served
Every open hour29items borrowed
Every week389people at a program
Every day182Wi-Fi sessions
37 staff (full-time equivalent)165 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

372K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

372Kloans
Books & media (adults) 34%Kids’ books & media 44%E-books, audio & streaming 22%
From your couch

81,530 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 Statesboro →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5210
Ages 6–11285
Teens93
Adults311
All ages119
Little ones
4

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

163K
kids’ books & media borrowed
20K
people at programs
1,018
programs
The building

Find it

Statesboro Regional Library, 124 South Main Street, Statesboro.

Directions(912) 764-1341
58
hours open a week
31,569
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Statesboro Regional Public Libraries branch.

New in Statesboro? 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 $2.14 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Statesboro 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
$15 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.7M.

Local taxes 57%State 34%Gifts & other 9%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 33,370 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. Statesboro Regional Public Libraries serves 181,925 people in and around Statesboro, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Statesboro.

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 Statesboro

Does Statesboro have a public library?

Yes. Statesboro Regional Public Libraries, 124 South Main Street, serves 181,925 people in and around Statesboro (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Statesboro Regional Public Libraries 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 Statesboro’s library?

It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Statesboro’s civic life grade?

A− Statesboro is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Statesboro.

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.