Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture · Public domainGreenwood’s library lends 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Greenwood-Leflore Public Library serves 26,378 people in and around Greenwood from 2 locations. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
Greenwood’s library, in brief
Greenwood-Leflore Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Greenwood-Leflore Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
89% of the 372 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 34 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Greenwood-Leflore Public Library serves 26,378 people in and around Greenwood, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Greenwood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Greenwood is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #14 of 85 in Mississippi. Greenwood is graded on two of the three inputs. Greenwood’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($27K–$44K) it does better, ahead of 57%.
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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Greenwood
7.0 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 (23 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.5%
2.5% of Greenwood’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 Greenwood’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.
Greenwood-Leflore Public Library serves 26,378 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Greenwood-Leflore Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,699 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
372 programs a year
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.
2 places to borrow in Greenwood
Greenwood-Leflore Public Library, 405 West Washington Street, Greenwood.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Greenwood-Leflore Public Library branch.
New in Greenwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Greenwood-Leflore Public Library branches in Greenwood
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greenwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $406K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $313K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $406K 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 12,030 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Greenwood-Leflore Public Library serves 26,378 people in and around Greenwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Greenwood.
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 Greenwood
Does Greenwood have a public library?
Yes. Greenwood-Leflore Public Library, 405 West Washington Street, serves 26,378 people in and around Greenwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greenwood-Leflore 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 Greenwood’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Greenwood’s civic life grade?
C+ Greenwood is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Greenwood.
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.