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Marietta Library · part of Northeast Regional Library

Marietta’s library is a branch of Northeast Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size

Marietta’s library is the Marietta Library, a branch of Northeast Regional Library, which serves 99,064 people and lent 167K items last year.

398 Highway 371, Marietta 38856 · about 10 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
167K
1.7 per resident
Visits a year
83K
0.8 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
409
about 8 a week · 4,831 attended
Cardholders
45%
45,051 cards
Open
10 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Marietta’s library is like

The Northeast Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size

The Northeast Regional Library system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓

Open only about 10 hours a week

The Marietta branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

Few programs for a library this size

The Northeast Regional Library system offered 409 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Mississippi pays a big share

24% of the budget comes from the state, and 67% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Runs on less money than most

The Northeast Regional Library system spends $9 per resident, less than 97% 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; Marietta’s library is a branch of Northeast Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (99,064 people), not just the Marietta branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Marietta’s civic life grade

Marietta isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Marietta’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 0.8 visits · typical 2.6Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 1.5 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 80%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1.2Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.6 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 81%
Program attendance 0 attendees · typical 0.3Bottom 10%
Programs offered 4.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Bottom 10%
Cardholders 45% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 61%
Spending $9 per resident · typical $40Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Northeast Regional Library serves 99,064 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northeast Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

83K
visits
0.8 per resident
167K
loans, print + digital
1.7 per resident
409
programs & events
4,831 attended
45K
library cards
45% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week93people at a program
Every day23Wi-Fi sessions
19 staff (full-time equivalent)51 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

167K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

167Kloans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 13%
From your couch

21,136 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Marietta →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5105
Ages 6–1158
Teens83
Adults61
All ages102
Little ones
2

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

59K
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,831
people at programs
409
programs
The building

Find it

Marietta Library, 398 Highway 371, Marietta.

10
hours open a week
165
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Northeast Regional Library branch.

New in Marietta? 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 $2.94 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marietta 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
$9 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $879K.

Local taxes 67%State 24%Federal 1%Gifts & other 8%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $879K 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 45,051 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. Marietta Library is one branch of Northeast Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 99,064 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 Marietta

Does Marietta have a public library?

Yes: Marietta Library, 398 Highway 371, is a branch of Northeast Regional Library, which serves 99,064 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Northeast 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 Marietta’s library?

It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Marietta’s civic life grade?

Marietta 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 Marietta.

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.