Joseph H. Rainey House · Photo: Federal, likely Cecil N. McKithan · Public domainGeorgetown’s library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Georgetown County Library serves 63,404 people in and around Georgetown. Last year it lent 150K print books and media and logged 154K visits.
What’s behind Georgetown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Georgetown is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #23 of 102 in South Carolina. Georgetown is graded on two of the three inputs. Georgetown’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Georgetown
7.8 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 (24 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.9%
2.9% of Georgetown’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 Georgetown’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Georgetown County Library serves 63,404 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Georgetown County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
150K 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 15 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
Georgetown County Library, 405 Cleland Street, Georgetown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Georgetown County Library branch.
New in Georgetown? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Georgetown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 36,793 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. Georgetown County Library serves 63,404 people in and around Georgetown, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Georgetown.
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 Georgetown
Does Georgetown have a public library?
Yes. Georgetown County Library, 405 Cleland Street, serves 63,404 people in and around Georgetown (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Georgetown County Library 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 Georgetown’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Georgetown’s civic life grade?
C+ Georgetown is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 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 Georgetown.
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.