Photo: FlugKerl2 · CC BY-SA 3.0North Laurel’s library is a branch of Howard County Library System, which lends more per resident than 98% of systems its size
North Laurel’s library is the Savage Branch, a branch of Howard County Library System, which serves 334,529 people and lent 5.3M items last year.
What North Laurel’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Howard County Library System logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Howard County Library System ran 9,469 programs last year, about 182 a week. That’s 28 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 251,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Howard County Library System spends $89 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; North Laurel’s library is a branch of Howard County Library System, so they cover the whole system (334,529 people), not just the North Laurel branch.
What’s behind North Laurel’s civic life grade
North Laurel 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 Howard County Library System, 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 North Laurel
North Laurel is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.1%
6.1% of North Laurel’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 North Laurel’s residents live; 2022.
About 75 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.
Howard County Library System serves 334,529 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 277 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Howard County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,110,170 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Savage Branch, 9525 Durness Lane, Laurel.
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 Howard County Library System branch.
New in North Laurel? 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 $2.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Laurel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $79M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 229,829 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Laurel | Savage Branch fine-free | — | 60 | — unincorporated |
| Laurel | Laurel Branch fine-free | — | 48 | C+ |
| Columbia | Central Branch fine-free | — | 61 | — unincorporated |
| Maryland City | Maryland City at Russett Community Library fine-free | — | 55 | — unincorporated |
| Savage | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Scaggsville | 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. Savage Branch is one branch of Howard County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 334,529 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 North Laurel
Does North Laurel have a public library?
Yes: Savage Branch, 9525 Durness Lane, is a branch of Howard County Library System, which serves 334,529 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Howard County Library System 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 North Laurel’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 15.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is North Laurel’s civic life grade?
North Laurel 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 Howard County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in North Laurel.
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.