Lore, J. C., Oyster House · Photo: Pubdog at en.wikipedia · Public domainSolomons’ library is a branch of Calvert Library, which lends more per resident than 82% of systems its size
Solomons’s library is the Southern Branch, a branch of Calvert Library, which serves 93,928 people and lent 1M items last year.
Solomons’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 2,416 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 27 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% 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; Solomons’s library is a branch of Calvert Library, so they cover the whole system (93,928 people), not just the Solomons branch.
What’s behind Solomons’ civic life grade
Solomons 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 Calvert 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 Solomons
Solomons is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.4%
7.4% of Solomons’ 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 Solomons’ residents live; 2022.
About 33 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Calvert Library serves 93,928 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 91 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Calvert Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
272,957 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Southern Branch, 13920 Hg Trueman Rd, Solomons.
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 Calvert Library branch.
New in Solomons? 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 $2.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Solomons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $7.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7.7M 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 34,057 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solomons | Southern Branch fine-free | — | 54 | — unincorporated |
| Lusby | 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. Southern Branch is one branch of Calvert Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 93,928 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 Solomons
Does Solomons have a public library?
Yes: Southern Branch, 13920 Hg Trueman Rd, is a branch of Calvert Library, which serves 93,928 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Calvert 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 Solomons’ library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 10.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Solomons’ civic life grade?
Solomons 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 Calvert Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Solomons.
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.