Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Thomaston’s library is a branch of Pine Mountain Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Thomaston’s library is the Hightower Memorial Library, a branch of Pine Mountain Regional Library System, which serves 62,955 people and lent 58K items last year.
Thomaston’s library, in brief
The Pine Mountain Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Pine Mountain Regional Library System records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Georgia pays a big share
43% of the budget comes from the state, and 49% 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 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 395 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Pine Mountain Regional Library System offered 395 programs last year, 6.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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; Thomaston’s library is a branch of Pine Mountain Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (62,955 people), not just the Thomaston branch.
What’s behind Thomaston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Thomaston is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #173 of 222 in Georgia. Thomaston is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Thomaston’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Pine Mountain Regional Library System spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$49K) 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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Thomaston
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of Thomaston’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 Thomaston’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Pine Mountain Regional Library System serves 62,955 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 Pine Mountain Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
58K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,701 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Hightower Memorial Library, 800 West Gordon Street, Thomaston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pine Mountain Regional Library System branch.
New in Thomaston? 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 $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thomaston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 11,471 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomaston | Hightower Memorial Library fine-free | — | 39 | D |
| Lincoln Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hannahs Mill | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hightower Memorial Library is one branch of Pine Mountain Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 62,955 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 Thomaston
Does Thomaston have a public library?
Yes: Hightower Memorial Library, 800 West Gordon Street, is a branch of Pine Mountain Regional Library System, which serves 62,955 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pine Mountain 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 Thomaston’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Thomaston’s civic life grade?
D Thomaston is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #173 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 Thomaston.
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.