Photo: Maria Miracoli · CC BY-SA 4.0Durham’s library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Durham County Library serves 334,350 people in and around Durham from 6 locations. Last year it lent 3.3M books, movies and e-books and logged 500K visits.
Durham’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 73%. People come in, pick up their books and go, or skip the trip: 31% of loans are digital. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Six branches in Durham
Durham has six branches of the Durham County Library, which serves 334,350 people in and around Durham. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
75% of the people it serves carry a library card
251,072 cards for 334,350 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. 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; Durham County Library serves 334,350 people in and around Durham, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Durham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Durham is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #84 of 234 in North Carolina. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #140. Durham’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) 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 →
1,403 community nonprofits are registered in Durham
4.8 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 (367 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 75 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Durham’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 Durham’s residents live; 2022.
About 38 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Durham County Library serves 334,350 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 187 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Durham County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,029,860 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
6 places to borrow in Durham
Durham County Main Library, 300 N Roxboro Rd., Durham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Durham County Library branch.
New in Durham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Durham County Library branches in Durham
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Durham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 251,072 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill Public Library fine-free | 23.6 | 61 | A |
| Durham | Durham County Main Library fine-free | — | 59 | C+ |
| Raleigh | Oberlin Regional Library fine-free | — | 68 | B− |
| Morrisville | Morrisville Community Library fine-free | — | 68 | B− |
| Cary | West Regional Library fine-free | — | 68 | B |
| Gorman | 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. Durham County Library serves 334,350 people in and around Durham, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Durham.
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 Durham
Does Durham have a public library?
Yes. Durham County Library, 300 N Roxboro Rd., serves 334,350 people in and around Durham (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Durham County Library 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 Durham’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Durham’s civic life grade?
C+ Durham is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Durham.
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.