Photo: G Keith Hall · CC BY-SA 3.0Elkin’s library is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 61% of systems its size
Elkin’s library is the Elkin Public Library, a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which serves 166,502 people and lent 467K items last year.
Elkin’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Northwestern Regional Library system ran 5,257 programs last year, about 101 a week. That’s 32 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 76,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
North Carolina pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Elkin’s library is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (166,502 people), not just the Elkin branch.
What’s behind Elkin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elkin is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #90 of 234 in North Carolina. Elkin is graded on two of the three inputs. Elkin’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 ($46K–$76K) 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Elkin
5.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.4%
4.4% of Elkin’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 Elkin’s residents live; 2022.
About 43 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Northwestern Regional Library serves 166,502 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northwestern Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
467K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,022 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Elkin Public Library, 111 N Front St., Elkin.
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 Northwestern Regional Library branch.
New in Elkin? 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 $2.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 64,946 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkin | Elkin Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | C+ |
| Jonesville | Jonesville Public Library fine-free | — | 51 | D |
| Pleasant Hill | 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. Elkin Public Library is one branch of Northwestern Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 166,502 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 Elkin
Does Elkin have a public library?
Yes: Elkin Public Library, 111 N Front St., is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which serves 166,502 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northwestern Regional 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 Elkin’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Elkin’s civic life grade?
C+ Elkin is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 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 Elkin.
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.