Willis L. Miller Library
Valdosta’s library is the Willis L. Miller Library, a branch of South Georgia Regional Library, which serves 135,908 people and lent 245K items last year.
What stands out about Willis L. Miller Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Georgia Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
2 places to borrow in Valdosta
Willis L. Miller Library, 2906 Julia Drive, Valdosta.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Georgia Regional Library branch.
New in Valdosta? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other South Georgia Regional Library branches in Valdosta
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
South Georgia Regional Library serves 135,908 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
245K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
82,096 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Valdosta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 64,122 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valdosta | Willis L. Miller Library | — | 56 |
| Bemiss | None 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.
- System-wide. Willis L. Miller Library is one branch of South Georgia Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 135,908 people it serves.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Valdosta.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.