Photo: Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0Cumberland’s library is a branch of Allegany County Library System, which lends less per resident than 56% of systems its size
Cumberland’s library is the Allegany County Library Washington Street Library, a branch of Allegany County Library System, which serves 67,729 people and lent 287K items last year.
What stands out about Allegany County Library Washington Street Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Cumberland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cumberland is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #31 of 67 in Maryland. Cumberland is graded on two of the three inputs. Cumberland’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 →
93 community nonprofits are registered in Cumberland
5.0 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 (29 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Cumberland’s 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 Cumberland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Allegany County Library System serves 67,729 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Allegany County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
287K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,297 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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.
2 places to borrow in Cumberland
Allegany County Library Washington Street Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Allegany County Library System branch.
New in Cumberland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Allegany County Library System branches in Cumberland
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cumberland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 22,073 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | Allegany County Library Washington Street Library | — | 28 | B− |
| Bowmans Addition | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Bowling Green | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Allegany County Library Washington Street Library is one branch of Allegany County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 67,729 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 Cumberland
Does Cumberland have a public library?
Yes: Allegany County Library Washington Street Library, 31 Washington St., is a branch of Allegany County Library System, which serves 67,729 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Allegany 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 Cumberland’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cumberland’s civic life grade?
B− Cumberland is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Cumberland.
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.