Photo: File:Franklinton Main Street.jpg: Creator:FranklintonNC derivative work: Ianmacm · CC BY-SA 4.0Franklinton’s library is a branch of Franklin County Library, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Franklinton’s library is the Franklinton Public Library, a branch of Franklin County Library, which serves 77,561 people and lent 148K items last year.
Franklinton’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 330 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Franklin 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Franklin County Library system offered 330 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 65% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 67% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Franklinton’s library is a branch of Franklin County Library, so they cover the whole system (77,561 people), not just the Franklinton branch.
What’s behind Franklinton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Franklinton is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #186 of 234 in North Carolina. Franklinton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Franklinton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Franklin County Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$74K) 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 Franklinton
2.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Franklinton’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 Franklinton’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.
Franklin County Library serves 77,561 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Franklin County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
148K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
26,091 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
Franklinton Public Library, 9 W Mason St., Franklinton.
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 Franklin County Library branch.
New in Franklinton? 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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Franklinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 24,407 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Franklinton Public Library is one branch of Franklin County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 77,561 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 Franklinton
Does Franklinton have a public library?
Yes: Franklinton Public Library, 9 W Mason St., is a branch of Franklin County Library, which serves 77,561 people. The branch is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Franklin 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 Franklinton’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Franklinton’s civic life grade?
D Franklinton is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #186 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 Franklinton.
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.