Wadley’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Library System, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Wadley’s library is the Wadley Public Library, a branch of Jefferson County Library System, which serves 15,133 people and lent 19K items last year.
The short version on Wadley’s library
The Jefferson County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Jefferson County Library System records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 63 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 30 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Jefferson County Library System offered 63 programs last year, 4.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Georgia pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Wadley’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Library System, so they cover the whole system (15,133 people), not just the Wadley branch.
What’s behind Wadley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wadley has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Wadley is graded on two of the three inputs. Wadley’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Jefferson County Library System spends $23 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($28K–$47K) 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 →
Wadley has few registered community nonprofits
0.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
0.2%
0.2% of Wadley’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 Wadley’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jefferson County Library System serves 15,133 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,535 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Wadley Public Library, 11 W. College Avenue, Wadley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jefferson County Library System branch.
New in Wadley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wadley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $341K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $294K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $341K 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 4,014 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Wadley Public Library is one branch of Jefferson County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 15,133 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 Wadley
Does Wadley have a public library?
Yes: Wadley Public Library, 11 W. College Avenue, is a branch of Jefferson County Library System, which serves 15,133 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson County 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 Wadley’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wadley’s civic life grade?
D− Wadley has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Wadley.
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.