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Main Street 20-10-22 066Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fulton County Public Library

Fulton’s library lends 8.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Fulton County Public Library serves 16,149 people in and around Fulton. Last year it lent 193K books, movies and e-books and logged 87K visits.

7420 Liberty Avenue, Fulton 46931 · about 45 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
193K
11.9 per resident
Visits a year
87K
5.4 per resident · Above typical (3.1)
Programs & events
743
about 14 a week · 12K attended
Cardholders
32%
5,145 cards
Open
45 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Fulton’s library is like

Big on e-books and audiobooks

Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓

A well-funded system

Fulton County Public Library spends $114 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. 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; Fulton County Public Library serves 16,149 people in and around Fulton, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Fulton’s civic life grade

Fulton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Fulton’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

193K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

193Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 28%E-books, audio & streaming 28%
From your couch

54,079 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 5.4 visits · typical 3.1Higher than 81%
Borrowing per resident 8.6 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 86%
Digital borrowing 3.3 e-items · typical 1.1Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 3.4 kids’ items · typical 1.8Higher than 78%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.4Higher than 77%
Programs offered 46 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 83%
Cardholders 32% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 65%
Spending $114 per resident · typical $43Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Fulton County Public Library serves 16,149 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fulton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

87K
visits
5.4 per resident
193K
loans, print + digital
11.9 per resident
743
programs & events
12K attended
5,145
library cards
32% of people served
Every open hour27items borrowed
Every week238people at a program
Every day94Wi-Fi sessions
26 staff (full-time equivalent)32 public computers
Kids & programs

About 7 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Fulton →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5201
Ages 6–11187
Teens55
Adults270
All ages30
Little ones
3.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

54K
kids’ books & media borrowed
12K
people at programs
743
programs
The building

Find it

Fulton Branch Library, 7420 Liberty Avenue, Fulton.

45
hours open a week
5,581
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fulton County Public Library branch.

New in Fulton? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.69 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fulton cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$564
a year at retail prices · $47 a month

Who pays for it
$114 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.

Local taxes 94%State 5%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 5,145 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Fulton County Public Library serves 16,149 people in and around Fulton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fulton.

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 Fulton

Does Fulton have a public library?

Yes. Fulton County Public Library, 7420 Liberty Avenue, serves 16,149 people in and around Fulton (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Fulton County Public 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 Fulton’s library?

It logged 5.4 visits and lent 11.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Fulton’s civic life grade?

Fulton isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Fulton.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.