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Library · Bay Minette

Bay Minette Public Library

Bay Minette Public Library serves Bay Minette’s 8,277 residents. Last year it lent 74K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.

205 West Second Street, Bay Minette 36507 · about 49 hours a week
Photo: Chris Pruitt
Borrowed a year
74K
8.9 per resident
Visits a year
22K
2.7 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
126
about 2 a week · 3,988 attended
Cardholders
84%
6,974 cards
Open
49 hrs
a week

What stands out about Bay Minette Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

74K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

74Kloans
Books & media (adults) 58%Kids’ books & media 30%E-books, audio & streaming 13%
How hard the shelves work
1.7×

Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.

From your couch

9,339 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Strongest at borrowing per resident

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 3Lower than 55%
Borrowing per resident 7.8 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 84%
Digital borrowing 1.1 e-items · typical 1Higher than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 2.6 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 71%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 51%
Programs offered 15.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 77%
Cardholders 84% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 85%
Spending $60 per resident · typical $43Higher than 71%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Bay Minette Public Library serves 8,277 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

22K
visits
2.7 per resident
74K
loans, print + digital
8.9 per resident
126
programs & events
3,988 attended
6,974
library cards
84% of people served
Every open hour29items borrowed
Every week77people at a program
Every day43Wi-Fi sessions
7 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers39K books & media on the shelves
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.42 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bay Minette cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$60 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $500K.

Local taxes 90%State 3%Federal 1%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $500K 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 6,974 cardholders ÷ 12.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Bay Minette →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–599
Ages 6–1111
Teens0
Adults15
All ages1
Little ones
1.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
12

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bay Minette last year.

3,988
people at programs
126
programs
The building

Find it

Bay Minette Public Library, 205 West Second Street, Bay Minette.

49
hours open a week
12,200
square feet
39K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Bay Minette? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Bay MinetteBay Minette Public Library fine-free8.949
StapletonNone of its own——

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Bay Minette.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Bay Minette Public Library one of the best things about Bay Minette?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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