Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Salem’s library is a branch of Oconee County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 55% of systems its size
Salem’s library is the Salem Branch Library, a branch of Oconee County Public Library, which serves 78,607 people and lent 332K items last year.
Salem’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Oconee County Public Library system offered 359 programs last year, 4.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Oconee County Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Salem’s library is a branch of Oconee County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (78,607 people), not just the Salem branch.
What’s behind Salem’s civic life grade
Salem 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Oconee County Public Library serves 78,607 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oconee County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
332K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
71,185 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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
Salem Branch Library, 5 Park Avenue, Salem.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oconee County Public Library branch.
New in Salem? 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 $2.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salem cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 12,075 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Salem Branch Library is one branch of Oconee County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 78,607 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 Salem
Does Salem have a public library?
Yes: Salem Branch Library, 5 Park Avenue, is a branch of Oconee County Public Library, which serves 78,607 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oconee County Public 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 Salem’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Salem’s civic life grade?
Salem 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 Salem.
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.