Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 4.0Ridgeland’s library is a branch of Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 90% of systems its size
Ridgeland’s library is the Pratt Memorial Library, a branch of Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library, which serves 55,391 people and lent 53K items last year.
Ridgeland’s library, in brief
The Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library system records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library system offered 165 programs last year, 3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
44% of the budget comes from the state, and 53% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Ridgeland’s library is a branch of Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (55,391 people), not just the Ridgeland branch.
What’s behind Ridgeland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ridgeland is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #47 of 102 in South Carolina. Ridgeland is graded on two of the three inputs. Ridgeland’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$79K) 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Ridgeland
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.2%
2.2% of Ridgeland’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 Ridgeland’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library serves 55,391 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
53K 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 2 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
Pratt Memorial Library, 451 East Wilson Street, Ridgeland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library branch.
New in Ridgeland? 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 Ridgeland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $915K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $905K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $915K 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 23,667 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. Pratt Memorial Library is one branch of Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 55,391 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 Ridgeland
Does Ridgeland have a public library?
Yes: Pratt Memorial Library, 451 East Wilson Street, is a branch of Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library, which serves 55,391 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional 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 Ridgeland’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ridgeland’s civic life grade?
C− Ridgeland is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 Ridgeland.
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.