Photo: Gerry Dincher from Hope Mills, NC · CC BY-SA 2.0Garland’s library is a branch of Sampson-Clinton Public Library, which lends less per resident than 73% of systems its size
Garland’s library is the Miriam B. Lamb Memorial Library, a branch of Sampson-Clinton Public Library, which serves 59,514 people and lent 130K items last year.
The short version on Garland’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Sampson-Clinton Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Sampson-Clinton Public Library system offered 117 programs last year, 2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Sampson-Clinton Public Library system records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 1.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Sampson-Clinton Public Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Garland’s library is a branch of Sampson-Clinton Public Library, so they cover the whole system (59,514 people), not just the Garland branch.
What’s behind Garland’s civic life grade
Garland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Sampson-Clinton Public Library serves 59,514 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sampson-Clinton Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
130K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,490 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Miriam B. Lamb Memorial Library, 144 S Church Ave, Garland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sampson-Clinton Public Library branch.
New in Garland? 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 $2.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Garland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $788K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $788K 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 17,569 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Miriam B. Lamb Memorial Library is one branch of Sampson-Clinton Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 59,514 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 Garland
Does Garland have a public library?
Yes: Miriam B. Lamb Memorial Library, 144 S Church Ave, is a branch of Sampson-Clinton Public Library, which serves 59,514 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sampson-Clinton Public 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 Garland’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Garland’s civic life grade?
Garland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Garland.
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.