Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T Buildings · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 3.0Eldersburg’s library is a branch of Carroll County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 99% of systems its size
Eldersburg’s library is the Eldersburg Branch, a branch of Carroll County Public Library, which serves 173,873 people and lent 3.1M items last year.
What Eldersburg’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Carroll County Public Library system ran 5,844 programs last year, about 112 a week. That’s 34 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 145,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Carroll County Public Library system logs 4.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Carroll County Public Library system spends $74 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. 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; Eldersburg’s library is a branch of Carroll County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (173,873 people), not just the Eldersburg branch.
What’s behind Eldersburg’s civic life grade
Eldersburg 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 Carroll County Public Library, 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 Eldersburg
Eldersburg is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.5%
9.5% of Eldersburg’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 Eldersburg’s residents live; 2022.
About 67 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.
Carroll County Public Library serves 173,873 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 145 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carroll County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
457,405 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Eldersburg Branch, 6400 W. Hemlock Dr., Eldersburg.
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 Carroll County Public Library branch.
New in Eldersburg? 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 $3.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eldersburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 96,485 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldersburg | Eldersburg Branch fine-free | — | 56 | — unincorporated |
| Sykesville | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Eldersburg Branch is one branch of Carroll County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 173,873 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 Eldersburg
Does Eldersburg have a public library?
Yes: Eldersburg Branch, 6400 W. Hemlock Dr., is a branch of Carroll County Public Library, which serves 173,873 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carroll 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 Eldersburg’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 17.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Eldersburg’s civic life grade?
Eldersburg 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 Carroll County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Eldersburg.
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.