Photo: Flickr user: high limitzz https://www.flickr.com/people/highlimitstudio/ · CC BY 2.0Annapolis’ library is a branch of Anne Arundel County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 81% of systems its size
Annapolis’s library is the Annapolis Regional Library, a branch of Anne Arundel County Public Library, which serves 590,336 people and lent 5.7M items last year.
Annapolis’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, the Anne Arundel County Public Library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 7,198 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 76 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Annapolis’s library is a branch of Anne Arundel County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (590,336 people), not just the Annapolis branch.
What’s behind Annapolis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Annapolis is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #27 of 67 in Maryland. Annapolis is graded on two of the three inputs. Annapolis’ 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 →
334 community nonprofits are registered in Annapolis
8.2 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 (47 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.3%
5.3% of Annapolis’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Maryland 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 Annapolis’ residents live; 2022.
About 92 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Anne Arundel County Public Library serves 590,336 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 132 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Anne Arundel County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
5.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,011,281 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Annapolis Regional Library, 1410 West St., Annapolis.
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 Anne Arundel County Public Library branch.
New in Annapolis? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Annapolis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $34M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34M 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 278,580 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annapolis | Annapolis Regional Library fine-free | — | 57 | B |
| Annapolis Neck | Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library fine-free | — | 55 | — unincorporated |
| Parole | Discoveries fine-free | — | 54 | — unincorporated |
| Naval Academy | 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. Annapolis Regional Library is one branch of Anne Arundel County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 590,336 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 Annapolis
Does Annapolis have a public library?
Yes: Annapolis Regional Library, 1410 West St., is a branch of Anne Arundel County Public Library, which serves 590,336 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Anne Arundel 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 Annapolis’ library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Annapolis’ civic life grade?
B Annapolis is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 of 67 in Maryland. 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 Annapolis.
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.