Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Cherokee’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cherokee Public Library serves Cherokee’s 5,157 residents. Last year it lent 2,389 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,603 visits.
Cherokee’s library, in brief
Cherokee Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Cherokee Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Alabama pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 60% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 57 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 17 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Cherokee Public Library spends $5 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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.
What’s behind Cherokee’s civic life grade
Cherokee 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cherokee Public Library serves 5,157 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,389 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K 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.
57 programs a year
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 Cherokee last year.
Find it
Cherokee Public Library, 118 Church Street, Cherokee.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cherokee? 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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cherokee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $24K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $47K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24K 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 2,520 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- 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.
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 Cherokee
Does Cherokee have a public library?
Yes. Cherokee Public Library, 118 Church Street, serves Cherokee’s 5,157 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cherokee 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 Cherokee’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cherokee’s civic life grade?
Cherokee 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 Cherokee.
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.