Champion Hill Battlefield · Photo: Gilford Photography · Public domainEdwards’ library is a branch of Jackson/Hinds Library System, which lends less per resident than 97% of systems its size
Edwards’s library is the Lois A. Flagg Library, a branch of Jackson/Hinds Library System, which serves 214,870 people and lent 173K items last year.
The short version on Edwards’s library
The Jackson/Hinds Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Jackson/Hinds Library System records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Edwards’s library is a branch of Jackson/Hinds Library System, so they cover the whole system (214,870 people), not just the Edwards branch.
What’s behind Edwards’ civic life grade
Edwards 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Jackson/Hinds Library System serves 214,870 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jackson/Hinds Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
173K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,854 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 16 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
Lois A. Flagg Library, 105 Williamson Avenue, Edwards.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jackson/Hinds Library System branch.
New in Edwards? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edwards cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M 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 37,796 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lois A. Flagg Library is one branch of Jackson/Hinds Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 214,870 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 Edwards
Does Edwards have a public library?
Yes: Lois A. Flagg Library, 105 Williamson Avenue, is a branch of Jackson/Hinds Library System, which serves 214,870 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson/Hinds 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 Edwards’ library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Edwards’ civic life grade?
Edwards 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 Edwards.
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.