Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Gibson’s library runs 1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Harriette Person Memorial Library serves 8,617 people in and around Port Gibson. Last year it lent 3,437 books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
The short version on Port Gibson’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Harriette Person Memorial Library offered 9 programs last year, 1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Harriette Person Memorial Library spends $15 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Harriette Person Memorial Library serves 8,617 people in and around Port Gibson, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Port Gibson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Gibson is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Port Gibson is graded on two of the three inputs. Port Gibson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Port Gibson
5.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.1%
2.1% of Port Gibson’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 Port Gibson’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harriette Person Memorial Library serves 8,617 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Harriette Person Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,437 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Harriette Person Memorial Library, 606 Main Street, Port Gibson.
Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Harriette Person Memorial Library branch.
New in Port Gibson? 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 Port Gibson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $60K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 3,937 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Harriette Person Memorial Library serves 8,617 people in and around Port Gibson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Gibson.
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 Port Gibson
Does Port Gibson have a public library?
Yes. Harriette Person Memorial Library, 606 Main Street, serves 8,617 people in and around Port Gibson (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harriette Person Memorial Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Port Gibson’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Gibson’s civic life grade?
C Port Gibson is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Port Gibson.
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.