Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0Sylvester’s library is a branch of Worth County Library System, which lends less per resident than 81% of systems its size
Sylvester’s library is the Margaret Jones Public Library, a branch of Worth County Library System, which serves 20,231 people and lent 39K items last year.
Sylvester’s library, in brief
The Worth County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Worth County Library System records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Georgia pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 39% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 173 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 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; Sylvester’s library is a branch of Worth County Library System, so they cover the whole system (20,231 people), not just the Sylvester branch.
What’s behind Sylvester’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sylvester is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #106 of 222 in Georgia. Sylvester 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.
Worth County Library System spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Sylvester
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.8%
6.8% of Sylvester’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 Sylvester’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Worth County Library System serves 20,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Worth County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,602 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Margaret Jones Public Library, 205 East Pope Street, Sylvester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Worth County Library System branch.
New in Sylvester? 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 $1.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sylvester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $387K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $761K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $387K 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 8,732 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Margaret Jones Public Library is one branch of Worth County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,231 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 Sylvester
Does Sylvester have a public library?
Yes: Margaret Jones Public Library, 205 East Pope Street, is a branch of Worth County Library System, which serves 20,231 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Worth County 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 Sylvester’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sylvester’s civic life grade?
C− Sylvester is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #106 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 Sylvester.
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.