West Selma Historic District · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSelma’s library is a branch of Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Selma’s library is the Selma Public Library, a branch of Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield, which serves 210,898 people and lent 280K items last year.
Selma’s library, in brief
The Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield system is used less than most libraries its size
The Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield system records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $6 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield system offered 317 programs last year, 1.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield system spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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; Selma’s library is a branch of Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield, so they cover the whole system (210,898 people), not just the Selma branch.
What’s behind Selma’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Selma is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #224 of 234 in North Carolina. Selma is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Selma’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield spends $6 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$52K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Selma
1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of Selma’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 Selma’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield serves 210,898 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
280K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
52,836 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Selma Public Library, 301 N Pollock St., Selma.
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 Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield branch.
New in Selma? 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 $3.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Selma cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 87,848 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selma | Selma Public Library fine-free | — | 47 | D− |
| Smithfield | Public Library of Johnston Cnty & Smithfield fine-free | — | 49 | C− |
| Pine Level | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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. Selma Public Library is one branch of Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 210,898 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 Selma
Does Selma have a public library?
Yes: Selma Public Library, 301 N Pollock St., is a branch of Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield, which serves 210,898 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield 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 Selma’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Selma’s civic life grade?
D− Selma is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #224 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 Selma.
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.