Schuetz Log Cabin · Photo: Patrick Haynes, Nate Koch · Public domainDalton’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Dalton Public Library serves Dalton’s 289 residents. Last year it logged 76 visits.
What Dalton’s library is like
Open only about 10 hours a week
Dalton Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Dalton Public Library offered 1 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Dalton Public Library serves 289 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Runs on less money than most
Dalton Public Library spends $18 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Dalton’s civic life grade
Dalton 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dalton Public Library serves 289 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Dalton Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 41 items borrowed against 76 visits, so we leave the count out.
1 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Dalton Public Library, 306 Main Street, Dalton.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dalton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dalton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $5,316.
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 162 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Dalton
Does Dalton have a public library?
Yes. Dalton Public Library, 306 Main Street, serves Dalton’s 289 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dalton Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dalton’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dalton’s civic life grade?
Dalton 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 Dalton.
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.