Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Charlotte’s library lends 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Charlotte Public Library serves Charlotte’s 3,695 residents. Last year it lent 920 print books and media and logged 1,936 visits.
The short version on Charlotte’s library
Charlotte Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Charlotte Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 78% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 93% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 123 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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.
What’s behind Charlotte’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Charlotte is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns. Charlotte is graded on two of the three inputs. Charlotte’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 ($22K–$36K) it does better, ahead of 65%.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Charlotte
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Charlotte’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Charlotte’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Charlotte Public Library serves 3,695 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Charlotte Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
920 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
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, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Charlotte last year.
Find it
Charlotte Public Library, 8 Couser Blvd, Charlotte.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Charlotte? 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 Charlotte cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $75K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $75K 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 1,583 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.
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 Charlotte
Does Charlotte have a public library?
Yes. Charlotte Public Library, 8 Couser Blvd, serves Charlotte’s 3,695 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charlotte Public Library 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 Charlotte’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Charlotte’s civic life grade?
C+ Charlotte is ahead of 35% 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 Charlotte.
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.