Brownsdale’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Brownsdale Public Library serves Brownsdale’s 676 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,985 visits.
The short version on Brownsdale’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 70% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 43 items per child in Brownsdale last year. Kids & programs ↓
Brownsdale is a town of borrowers
Brownsdale Public Library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Brownsdale Public Library serves 676 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 29 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 68%. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 7% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 45% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Brownsdale’s civic life grade
Brownsdale isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
100 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Brownsdale last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Brownsdale Public Library serves 676 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
790 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Brownsdale Public Library, 103 E Main St., Brownsdale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Brownsdale? 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 $2.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brownsdale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $70K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $170K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $70K 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 459 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Brownsdale
Does Brownsdale have a public library?
Yes. Brownsdale Public Library, 103 E Main St., serves Brownsdale’s 676 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brownsdale 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 Brownsdale’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 16.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Brownsdale’s civic life grade?
Brownsdale isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Brownsdale.
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.