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Harmony Branch Library · part of Iredell County Library

Harmony’s library is a branch of Iredell County Library, which lends less per resident than 65% of systems its size

Harmony’s library is the Harmony Branch Library, a branch of Iredell County Library, which serves 145,521 people and lent 471K items last year.

3393 Harmony Hwy, Harmony 28634 · about 54 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
471K
3.2 per resident
Visits a year
194K
1.3 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
1,070
about 21 a week · 23K attended
Cardholders
48%
70,459 cards
Open
54 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Harmony Branch Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Harmony’s civic life grade

Harmony isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Harmony’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.3 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 80%
Borrowing per resident 2.4 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 65%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 69%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 63%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 70%
Programs offered 7.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Lower than 64%
Cardholders 48% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 66%
Spending $18 per resident · typical $36Lower than 83%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Iredell County Library serves 145,521 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Iredell County Library system. The library’s own count.

194K
visits
1.3 per resident
471K
loans, print + digital
3.2 per resident
1,070
programs & events
23K attended
70K
library cards
48% of people served
Every open hour52items borrowed
Every week436people at a program
Every day83Wi-Fi sessions
32 staff (full-time equivalent)34 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

471K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

471Kloans
Books & media (adults) 36%Kids’ books & media 39%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
From your couch

119,370 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 14 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Harmony →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5352
Ages 6–11357
Teens83
Adults278
All ages0
Little ones
6.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

182K
kids’ books & media borrowed
23K
people at programs
1,070
programs
The building

Find it

Harmony Branch Library, 3393 Harmony Hwy, Harmony.

54
hours open a week
3,000
square feet
With a card

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 Iredell County Library branch.

New in Harmony? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.68 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harmony cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$18 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.7M.

Local taxes 92%State 8%Gifts & other 0%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.7M 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 70,459 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Harmony Branch Library is one branch of Iredell County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 145,521 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 Harmony

Does Harmony have a public library?

Yes: Harmony Branch Library, 3393 Harmony Hwy, is a branch of Iredell County Library, which serves 145,521 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Iredell 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 Harmony’s library?

It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Harmony’s civic life grade?

Harmony 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 Harmony.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.