Photo: Justin Felder · CC BY-SA 3.0Bowman’s library is a branch of Orangeburg County Library Commission, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Bowman’s library is the Bowman-Geraldine Matthews Branch, a branch of Orangeburg County Library Commission, which serves 84,223 people and lent 114K items last year.
What stands out about Bowman-Geraldine Matthews Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bowman’s civic life grade
Bowman 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Orangeburg County Library Commission serves 84,223 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Orangeburg County Library Commission system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
114K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Bowman-Geraldine Matthews Branch, 7105 Charleston Highway, Bowman.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Orangeburg County Library Commission branch.
New in Bowman? 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 Bowman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 53,745 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Bowman-Geraldine Matthews Branch is one branch of Orangeburg County Library Commission, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 84,223 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 Bowman
Does Bowman have a public library?
Yes: Bowman-Geraldine Matthews Branch, 7105 Charleston Highway, is a branch of Orangeburg County Library Commission, which serves 84,223 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Orangeburg County Library Commission 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 Bowman’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bowman’s civic life grade?
Bowman 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 Bowman.
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.