Photo: Michael Rivera · Public domainTifton’s library is a branch of Coastal Plain Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Tifton’s library is the Coastal Plain Regional Library Headquarters, a branch of Coastal Plain Regional Library, which serves 113,445 people and lent 199K items last year.
Tifton’s library, in brief
Open only about 16 hours a week
The Tifton branch keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
Georgia pays a big share
38% of the budget comes from the state, and 44% 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 ↓
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; Tifton’s library is a branch of Coastal Plain Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (113,445 people), not just the Tifton branch.
What’s behind Tifton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tifton is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #91 of 222 in Georgia. Tifton is graded on two of the three inputs. Tifton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Coastal Plain Regional Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$57K) 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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Tifton
3.9 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 (34 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.5%
4.5% of Tifton’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 Tifton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Coastal Plain Regional Library serves 113,445 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coastal Plain Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
199K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,339 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 12 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.
2 places to borrow in Tifton
Coastal Plain Regional Library Headquarters, 2014 Chestnut Avenue, Tifton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Coastal Plain Regional Library branch.
New in Tifton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Coastal Plain Regional Library branches in Tifton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tifton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 19,946 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tifton | Coastal Plain Regional Library Headquarters fine-free | — | 16 | C− |
| Phillipsburg | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Unionville | 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. Coastal Plain Regional Library Headquarters is one branch of Coastal Plain Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 113,445 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 Tifton
Does Tifton have a public library?
Yes: Coastal Plain Regional Library Headquarters, 2014 Chestnut Avenue, is a branch of Coastal Plain Regional Library, which serves 113,445 people. The branch is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coastal Plain Regional Library 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 Tifton’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Tifton’s civic life grade?
C− Tifton is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #91 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 Tifton.
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.