Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Denmark’s library is a branch of Abbe Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Denmark’s library is the Denmark Library, a branch of Abbe Regional Library System, which serves 228,365 people and lent 303K items last year.
Denmark’s library, in brief
The Abbe Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Abbe Regional Library System records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.3 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 ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
46% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Abbe Regional Library System offered 1,068 programs last year, 4.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Abbe Regional Library 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; Denmark’s library is a branch of Abbe Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (228,365 people), not just the Denmark branch.
What’s behind Denmark’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Denmark is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #26 of 102 in South Carolina. Denmark is graded on two of the three inputs. Denmark’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$34K) it does better, ahead of 70%.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Denmark
6.4 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.1%
3.1% of Denmark’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South 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 Denmark’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Abbe Regional Library System serves 228,365 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Abbe Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
303K 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 12 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
Denmark Library, 5122 Carolina Highway, Denmark.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Abbe Regional Library System branch.
New in Denmark? 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 $3.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Denmark cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 43,433 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. Denmark Library is one branch of Abbe Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 228,365 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 Denmark
Does Denmark have a public library?
Yes: Denmark Library, 5122 Carolina Highway, is a branch of Abbe Regional Library System, which serves 228,365 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Abbe Regional Library System 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 Denmark’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Denmark’s civic life grade?
C+ Denmark is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #26 of 102 in South 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 Denmark.
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.