Crawford’s library is a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which lends less per resident than 90% of systems its size
Crawford’s library is the Crawford Public Library, a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which serves 57,283 people and lent 64K items last year.
The short version on Crawford’s library
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Open only about 12 hours a week
The Crawford branch keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system spends $14 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Crawford’s library is a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, so they cover the whole system (57,283 people), not just the Crawford branch.
What’s behind Crawford’s civic life grade
Crawford 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library serves 57,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,137 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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.
Find it
Crawford Public Library, 320 Main Street, Crawford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Columbus-Lowndes Public Library branch.
New in Crawford? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crawford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $797K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $797K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 40,950 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Crawford Public Library is one branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 57,283 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 Crawford
Does Crawford have a public library?
Yes: Crawford Public Library, 320 Main Street, is a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which serves 57,283 people. The branch is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus-Lowndes Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crawford’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Crawford’s civic life grade?
Crawford 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 Crawford.
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.