Rosalie · Photo: Elisa Rolle · CC BY-SA 3.0Natchez’s library is a branch of Judge Armstrong Library, which lends less per resident than 90% of systems its size
Natchez’s library is the Judge George W. Armstrong Library, a branch of Judge Armstrong Library, which serves 28,746 people and lent 28K items last year.
Natchez’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Judge Armstrong Library system offered 48 programs last year, 1.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
27,991 cards for 28,746 people, or 97%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
2% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 77% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Judge Armstrong Library system lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Natchez’s library is a branch of Judge Armstrong Library, so they cover the whole system (28,746 people), not just the Natchez branch.
What’s behind Natchez’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Natchez is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #25 of 85 in Mississippi. Natchez is graded on two of the three inputs. Natchez’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in Natchez
5.7 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.9%
2.9% of Natchez’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 Natchez’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.
Judge Armstrong Library serves 28,746 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Judge Armstrong Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
48 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.
Find it
Judge George W. Armstrong Library, 220 South Commerce Street, Natchez.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Judge Armstrong Library branch.
New in Natchez? 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 $1.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Natchez cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $414K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $527K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $414K 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 27,991 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natchez | Judge George W. Armstrong Library | — | 38 | C |
| Morgantown | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Judge George W. Armstrong Library is one branch of Judge Armstrong Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,746 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 Natchez
Does Natchez have a public library?
Yes: Judge George W. Armstrong Library, 220 South Commerce Street, is a branch of Judge Armstrong Library, which serves 28,746 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Judge Armstrong 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 Natchez’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Natchez’s civic life grade?
C Natchez is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 Natchez.
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.