Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0New Albany’s library is a branch of Union County Library System, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
New Albany’s library is the Jennie Stephens Smith Library, a branch of Union County Library System, which serves 28,284 people and lent 90K items last year.
New Albany’s library, in brief
Runs on less money than most
The Union County Library System spends $11 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
75% of the people it serves carry a library card
21,164 cards for 28,284 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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; New Albany’s library is a branch of Union County Library System, so they cover the whole system (28,284 people), not just the New Albany branch.
What’s behind New Albany’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Albany is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #57 of 85 in Mississippi. New Albany is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; New Albany’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Union County Library System spends $11 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in New Albany
3.1 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.9%
2.9% of New Albany’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 New Albany’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Union County Library System serves 28,284 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Union County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
90K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,117 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
Jennie Stephens Smith Library, 219 King Street, New Albany.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Union County Library System branch.
New in New Albany? 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 $4.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Albany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $314K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $314K 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 21,164 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jennie Stephens Smith Library is one branch of Union County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,284 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 New Albany
Does New Albany have a public library?
Yes: Jennie Stephens Smith Library, 219 King Street, is a branch of Union County Library System, which serves 28,284 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Union County 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 New Albany’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is New Albany’s civic life grade?
D New Albany is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 New Albany.
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.