Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0St. Matthews’ library runs 35 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Calhoun County Library System serves 14,119 people in and around St. Matthews. Last year it lent 27K print books and media and logged 19K visits.
St. Matthews’s library, in brief
The branch is a National Register landmark
Calhoun County Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 12,500 square feet. The building ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
20% of the budget comes from the state, and 67% 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; Calhoun County Library System serves 14,119 people in and around St. Matthews, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Matthews’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Matthews is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. St. Matthews is graded on two of the three inputs. St. Matthews’ 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 ($38K–$64K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in St. Matthews
5.0 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.0%
4.0% of St. Matthews’ 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 St. Matthews’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Calhoun County Library, 900 F.R. Huff Drive, St. Matthews.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Calhoun County Library System branch.
New in St. Matthews? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Calhoun County Library
Calhoun County Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1975. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
Calhoun County Library is a historic library building located at St. Matthews, Calhoun County, South Carolina. It was built about 1877, and is a one-story, medium-gabled white clapboard structure in the Greek Revival style. It was originally built as a residence, but was adapted for use as a county library in 1949.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Calhoun County Library System serves 14,119 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Calhoun County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
27K 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Matthews cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $847K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $509K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $847K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 3,121 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. Calhoun County Library System serves 14,119 people in and around St. Matthews, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Matthews.
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 St. Matthews
Does St. Matthews have a public library?
Yes. Calhoun County Library System, 900 F.R. Huff Drive, serves 14,119 people in and around St. Matthews (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Calhoun County Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is St. Matthews’ library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is St. Matthews’ civic life grade?
C St. Matthews is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 St. Matthews.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.