Photo: Robert Haugland · CC BY-SA 4.0Knoxville’s library runs 2.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Knoxville Public Library serves Knoxville’s 2,901 residents. Last year it lent 9,540 print books and media and logged 6,492 visits.
Knoxville’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Knoxville Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 2.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Knoxville Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Knoxville Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 61%. 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 Knoxville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Knoxville is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #410 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$104K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Knoxville
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Knoxville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Knoxville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Knoxville Public Library serves 2,901 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,540 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Knoxville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
8 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.
Find it
Knoxville Public Library, 200 East Main Street, Knoxville.
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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Knoxville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $72K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $164K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $72K 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 711 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Knoxville ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galesburg | Galesburg Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 60 | B |
| Galesburg City Township | Galesburg Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 60 | B |
| Knoxville | Knoxville Public Library | 3.3 | 39 | C+ |
| Knox Township | Knoxville Public Library | 3.3 | 39 | C |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’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 Knoxville
Does Knoxville have a public library?
Yes. Knoxville Public Library, 200 East Main Street, serves Knoxville’s 2,901 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Knoxville Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Knoxville’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Knoxville’s civic life grade?
C+ Knoxville is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #410 of 754 in Illinois. 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 Knoxville.
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.