Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0Atlanta’s library lends 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Atlanta Public Library District serves Atlanta’s 2,238 residents. Last year it lent 3,806 print books and media and logged 4,116 visits.
Atlanta’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Atlanta Public Library District sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Atlanta Public Library District serves 2,238 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Atlanta Public Library District serves have a library card, against a typical 54% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Atlanta’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Atlanta is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Atlanta is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Atlanta’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Atlanta
6.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Atlanta’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Atlanta’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Atlanta Public Library District serves 2,238 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,806 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Atlanta’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 9,053 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
63 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Atlanta Public Library District, 100 Race Street, Atlanta.
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 Atlanta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $161K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $161K 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 378 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Atlanta
Does Atlanta have a public library?
Yes. Atlanta Public Library District, 100 Race Street, serves Atlanta’s 2,238 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Atlanta Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Atlanta’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Atlanta’s civic life grade?
A Atlanta is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Atlanta.
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.