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Belzoni Mississippi Heart Of The Delta SignPhoto: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Humphreys County Library System

Belzoni’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Humphreys County Library System serves 7,216 people in and around Belzoni. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,176 visits.

105 South Hayden Street, Belzoni 39038 · about 35 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 20% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (662) 247-3606 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
12K
1.6 per resident
Visits a year
7,176
1 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
40
about 1 a week · 1,111 attended
Cardholders
60%
4,344 cards
Open
35 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Belzoni’s library

Humphreys County Library System is used less than most libraries its size

Humphreys County Library System records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Humphreys County Library System offered 40 programs last year, 5.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Mississippi pays a big share

21% of the budget comes from the state, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% 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; Humphreys County Library System serves 7,216 people in and around Belzoni, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Belzoni’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Belzoni is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. Belzoni is graded on two of the three inputs. Belzoni’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Belzoni’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.4 per 1,000 residents · MS towns 2.8 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering1.3% of adults 25–44 · MS towns 4.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 20%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $26K–$43K (940)Ahead of 39%

Humphreys County Library System spends $17 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Belzoni is small (1,719 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

6 community nonprofits are registered in Belzoni

4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.38 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.84 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.54 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

1.3%

1.3% of Belzoni’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Belzoni’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1 visits · typical 3Lower than 88%
Borrowing per resident 1.5 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 82%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 83%
Programs offered 5.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 60% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 72%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $43Lower than 88%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Humphreys County Library System serves 7,216 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Humphreys County Library System system. The library’s own count.

7,176
visits
1 per resident
12K
loans, print + digital
1.6 per resident
40
programs & events
1,111 attended
4,344
library cards
60% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week21people at a program
Every day27Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)8 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

12Kloans
Books & media (adults) 82%Kids’ books & media 14%E-books, audio & streaming 4%
From your couch

478 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

40 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Belzoni →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–520
Ages 6–1112
Teens1
Adults0
All ages7
Little ones
0.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1,668
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,111
people at programs
40
programs
The building

Find it

Humphreys County Library, 105 South Hayden Street, Belzoni.

Directions(662) 247-3606
35
hours open a week
5,324
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Humphreys County Library System branch.

New in Belzoni? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.87 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Belzoni cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $123K.

Local taxes 66%State 21%Federal 8%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $229K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $123K 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 4,344 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Humphreys County Library System serves 7,216 people in and around Belzoni, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Belzoni.

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 Belzoni

Does Belzoni have a public library?

Yes. Humphreys County Library System, 105 South Hayden Street, serves 7,216 people in and around Belzoni (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Humphreys 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 Belzoni’s library?

It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Belzoni’s civic life grade?

C− Belzoni is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Belzoni.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.