Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0Damascus’ library is a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size
Damascus’s library is the Damascus Branch, a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, which serves 1,054,827 people and lent 11M items last year.
The short version on Damascus’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Damascus’s library is a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (1,054,827 people), not just the Damascus branch.
What’s behind Damascus’ civic life grade
Damascus isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Damascus
Damascus is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.3%
6.3% of Damascus’ 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 Damascus’ residents live; 2022.
About 60 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Montgomery County Public Libraries serves 1,054,827 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 165 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montgomery County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,673,794 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Damascus Branch, 9701 Main St., Damascus.
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 Montgomery County Public Libraries branch.
New in Damascus? 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 $4.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Damascus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $47M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $191M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47M 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 648,147 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damascus | Damascus Branch fine-free | — | 62 | — unincorporated |
| Clarksburg | 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. Damascus Branch is one branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,054,827 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 Damascus
Does Damascus have a public library?
Yes: Damascus Branch, 9701 Main St., is a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, which serves 1,054,827 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montgomery County Public Libraries 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 Damascus’ library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 10.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Damascus’ civic life grade?
Damascus isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Damascus.
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.