Bethlehem’s library is a branch of Alexander County Library, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Bethlehem’s library is the Bethlehem Branch Library, a branch of Alexander County Library, which serves 36,231 people and lent 72K items last year.
The short version on Bethlehem’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Alexander County Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
North Carolina pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 76% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Bethlehem’s library is a branch of Alexander County Library, so they cover the whole system (36,231 people), not just the Bethlehem branch.
What’s behind Bethlehem’s civic life grade
Bethlehem isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Alexander County Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.3%
6.3% of Bethlehem’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical North Carolina 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 Bethlehem’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Alexander County Library serves 36,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alexander County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
72K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,055 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Bethlehem Branch Library, 45 Rink Dam Rd, Hickory.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alexander County Library branch.
New in Bethlehem? 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 $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethlehem cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $691K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $691K 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 6,932 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Branch Library | — | 28 | — unincorporated |
| St. Stephens | St. Stephens Branch Library fine-free | — | 50 | — 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. Bethlehem Branch Library is one branch of Alexander County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 36,231 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 Bethlehem
Does Bethlehem have a public library?
Yes: Bethlehem Branch Library, 45 Rink Dam Rd, is a branch of Alexander County Library, which serves 36,231 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alexander County 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 Bethlehem’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bethlehem’s civic life grade?
Bethlehem isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Alexander County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bethlehem.
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.