Photo: Ak1047 · CC BY-SA 4.0Burlington’s library is a branch of Alamance County Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 73% of systems its size
Burlington’s library is the May Memorial Library, a branch of Alamance County Public Libraries, which serves 176,429 people and lent 510K items last year.
What stands out about May Memorial Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Burlington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Burlington is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #166 of 234 in North Carolina. Burlington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Burlington’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Alamance County Public Libraries spends $20 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
188 community nonprofits are registered in Burlington
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (78 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.3%
4.3% of Burlington’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 Burlington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Alamance County Public Libraries serves 176,429 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alamance County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
510K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
147,425 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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.
2 places to borrow in Burlington
May Memorial Library, 342 S Spring St., Burlington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alamance County Public Libraries branch.
New in Burlington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Alamance County Public Libraries branches in Burlington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.6M 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 79,795 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsonville | Gibsonville Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 52 | D |
| Burlington | May Memorial Library fine-free | — | 56 | D |
| Graham | Graham Public Library fine-free | — | 56 | C |
| Glen Raven | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Elon | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Haw River | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Whitsett | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. May Memorial Library is one branch of Alamance County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 176,429 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 Burlington
Does Burlington have a public library?
Yes: May Memorial Library, 342 S Spring St., is a branch of Alamance County Public Libraries, which serves 176,429 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alamance County Public Libraries 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 Burlington’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Burlington’s civic life grade?
D Burlington is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #166 of 234 in North Carolina. 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 Burlington.
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.