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Screven County Library · part of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System

Sylvania’s library is a branch of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size

Sylvania’s library is the Screven County Library, a branch of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, which serves 22,845 people and lent 32K items last year.

106 South Community Drive, Sylvania 30467 · about 49 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 21% of U.S. towns · #95 of 222 in Georgia. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (912) 564-7526 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
32K
1.4 per resident
Visits a year
34K
1.5 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
150
about 3 a week · 3,022 attended
Cardholders
32%
7,244 cards
Open
49 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Sylvania’s library

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓

Georgia pays a big share

41% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Few programs for a library this size

The Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System offered 150 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Sylvania’s library is a branch of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (22,845 people), not just the Sylvania branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Sylvania’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sylvania is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #95 of 222 in Georgia. Sylvania 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 Sylvania’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.4 per 1,000 residents · GA towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7C+Volunteering6.9% of adults 25–44 · GA towns 4.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 21%
FewerMore
Georgia towns we grade (222)Ahead of 57%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $35K–$58K (3,692)Ahead of 26%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) 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. Sylvania is small (2,704 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

6 community nonprofits are registered in Sylvania

2.4 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 & culture00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.15 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.57 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.42 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.9%

6.9% of Sylvania’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 Sylvania’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.5 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 79%
Borrowing per resident 1.1 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 89%
Digital borrowing 0.3 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 84%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 85%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 88%
Programs offered 6.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Bottom 10%
Cardholders 32% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 65%
Spending $27 per resident · typical $43Lower than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System serves 22,845 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

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

34K
visits
1.5 per resident
32K
loans, print + digital
1.4 per resident
150
programs & events
3,022 attended
7,244
library cards
32% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week58people at a program
Every day15Wi-Fi sessions
8 staff (full-time equivalent)37 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

32Kloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 37%E-books, audio & streaming 23%
From your couch

7,380 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 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Sylvania →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–556
Ages 6–1138
Teens26
Adults21
All ages9
Little ones
1.1

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

12K
kids’ books & media borrowed
3,022
people at programs
150
programs
The building

Find it

Screven County Library, 106 South Community Drive, Sylvania.

Directions(912) 564-7526
49
hours open a week
13,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System branch.

New in Sylvania? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sylvania 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
$27 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $618K.

Local taxes 48%State 41%Gifts & other 11%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $518K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $618K 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 7,244 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. Screven County Library is one branch of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 22,845 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 Sylvania

Does Sylvania have a public library?

Yes: Screven County Library, 106 South Community Drive, is a branch of Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, which serves 22,845 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Screven-Jenkins 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 Sylvania’s library?

It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Sylvania’s civic life grade?

C− Sylvania is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Sylvania.

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.