Photo: Ktkvtsh · CC BY-SA 4.0Decatur’s library is a branch of Kemper-Newton Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Decatur’s library is the Jessie Mae Everett Public Library, a branch of Kemper-Newton Regional Library, which serves 29,603 people and lent 25K items last year.
The short version on Decatur’s library
The Kemper-Newton Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Kemper-Newton Regional Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Mississippi pays a big share
24% of the budget comes from the state, and 61% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Kemper-Newton Regional Library system offered 165 programs last year, 5.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Kemper-Newton Regional Library system spends $10 per resident, less than 96% 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; Decatur’s library is a branch of Kemper-Newton Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (29,603 people), not just the Decatur branch.
What’s behind Decatur’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Decatur is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns. Decatur is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Decatur’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Kemper-Newton Regional Library spends $10 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) 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.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Decatur
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.8%
3.8% of Decatur’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 Decatur’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Kemper-Newton Regional Library serves 29,603 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kemper-Newton Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
25K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,968 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Jessie Mae Everett Public Library, West Broad Street, Decatur.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kemper-Newton Regional Library branch.
New in Decatur? 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 $1.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Decatur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $293K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $474K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $293K 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 15,210 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jessie Mae Everett Public Library is one branch of Kemper-Newton Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 29,603 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 Decatur
Does Decatur have a public library?
Yes: Jessie Mae Everett Public Library, West Broad Street, is a branch of Kemper-Newton Regional Library, which serves 29,603 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kemper-Newton Regional 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 Decatur’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Decatur’s civic life grade?
D Decatur is ahead of 7% 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 Decatur.
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.