Robert Toombs House · Photo: TampAGS, for AGS Media · CC BY-SA 3.0Washington’s library is a branch of Bartram Trail Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 81% of systems its size
Washington’s library is the Mary Willis Library, a branch of Bartram Trail Regional Library System, which serves 33,056 people and lent 61K items last year.
The short version on Washington’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Bartram Trail 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
45% of the budget comes from the state, and 47% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Mary Willis Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Today’s library there has 12,633 square feet. The building ↓
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; Washington’s library is a branch of Bartram Trail Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (33,056 people), not just the Washington branch.
What’s behind Washington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #7 of 222 in Georgia. Washington is graded on two of the three inputs. Washington’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Washington
6.8 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Washington’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 Washington’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1972
Mary Willis Library, 204 E. Liberty Street, Washington.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bartram Trail Regional Library System branch.
New in Washington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Mary Willis Library
Mary Willis Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 11, 1972. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the national level. Its architecture is described as High Victorian and Queen Anne.
The Mary Willis Library is a historic public library located in the city of Washington, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The library, located at 204 East Liberty Street (corner of East Liberty and South Jefferson) in downtown Washington, is the designated public library for Wilkes County and headquarters of the Bartram Trail Regional Library System.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bartram Trail Regional Library System serves 33,056 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bartram Trail Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
61K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
13,938 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $855K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $855K 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 8,879 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mary Willis Library is one branch of Bartram Trail Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 33,056 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 Washington
Does Washington have a public library?
Yes: Mary Willis Library, 204 E. Liberty Street, is a branch of Bartram Trail Regional Library System, which serves 33,056 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bartram Trail 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 Washington’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Washington’s civic life grade?
B+ Washington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Washington.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.