Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 4.0Nashville’s library is a branch of Tri-County Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 81% of systems its size
Nashville’s library is the Howard County Public Library, a branch of Tri-County Regional Library System, which serves 40,064 people and lent 71K items last year.
Nashville’s library, in brief
The Tri-County Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Tri-County Regional Library System records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Tri-County Regional Library System offered 162 programs last year, 4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
35,879 cards for 40,064 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Nashville’s library is a branch of Tri-County Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (40,064 people), not just the Nashville branch.
What’s behind Nashville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nashville is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #72 of 114 in Arkansas. Nashville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Nashville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Nashville
3.4 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.
6.5%
6.5% of Nashville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical Arkansas 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 Nashville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tri-County Regional Library System serves 40,064 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Tri-County Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tri-County Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
71K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,061 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
162 programs a year
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.
Find it
Howard County Public Library, 426 N. Main St., Suite 5, Nashville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tri-County Regional Library System branch.
New in Nashville? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nashville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $586K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $586K 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 35,879 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Howard County Public Library is one branch of Tri-County Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 40,064 people it serves.
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 Nashville
Does Nashville have a public library?
Yes: Howard County Public Library, 426 N. Main St., Suite 5, is a branch of Tri-County Regional Library System, which serves 40,064 people. The branch is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tri-County Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Nashville’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Nashville’s civic life grade?
C Nashville is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #72 of 114 in Arkansas. 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 Nashville.
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.