Photo: Gerry Dincher · CC BY-SA 2.0Siler City’s library is a branch of Chatham County Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 61% of systems its size
Siler City’s library is the Wren Memorial Library, a branch of Chatham County Public Libraries, which serves 81,248 people and lent 353K items last year.
The short version on Siler City’s library
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Chatham County Public Libraries system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 888 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Siler City’s library is a branch of Chatham County Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (81,248 people), not just the Siler City branch.
What’s behind Siler City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Siler City is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #179 of 234 in North Carolina. Siler City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Siler City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Siler City
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.5%
2.5% of Siler City’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 Siler City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Chatham County Public Libraries serves 81,248 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Chatham County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
353K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
120,477 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Wren Memorial Library, 500 N 2nd Ave, Siler City.
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 Chatham County Public Libraries branch.
New in Siler City? 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 $2.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Siler City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 28,011 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Wren Memorial Library is one branch of Chatham County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 81,248 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 Siler City
Does Siler City have a public library?
Yes: Wren Memorial Library, 500 N 2nd Ave, is a branch of Chatham County Public Libraries, which serves 81,248 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chatham County Public Libraries 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 Siler City’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Siler City’s civic life grade?
D Siler City is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #179 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 Siler City.
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.