Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Carthage’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Henry Henley Public Library serves 2,156 people in and around Carthage. Last year it lent 5,133 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,563 visits.
What Carthage’s library is like
Henry Henley Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Henry Henley Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Most of Carthage’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 65% of loans, more per resident than at 64% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 35%. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Henry Henley Public Library serves 2,156 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Henry Henley Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Henry Henley Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016. Today’s library there has 2,320 square feet. The building ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Carthage’s civic life grade
Carthage 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 →
65% of borrowing is digital
5,133 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,889 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
3,320 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Henry Henley Public Library serves 2,156 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
A National Register landmark since 2016
Henry Henley Public Library, 102 North Main Street, Carthage.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Carthage? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Henry Henley Public Library
Henley, Henry, Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 27, 2016. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carthage cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $86K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K 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 302 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 Carthage
Does Carthage have a public library?
Yes. Henry Henley Public Library, 102 North Main Street, serves 2,156 people in and around Carthage (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Henry Henley 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 Carthage’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Carthage’s civic life grade?
Carthage 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 Carthage.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.