Photo: Quentin Melson · CC BY-SA 4.0Shoals’ library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Shoals Public Library serves 4,077 people in and around Shoals. Last year it lent 9,403 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,875 visits.
The short version on Shoals’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Shoals Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Shoals Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Shoals Public Library serves more than Shoals
The library’s service area covers 4,077 people in and around Shoals, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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 Shoals’ civic life grade
Shoals 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 →
43% of borrowing is digital
9,403 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
4,004 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Shoals Public Library serves 4,077 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
83 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
Shoals Public Library, 404 High Street, Shoals.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shoals? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shoals cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $174K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $157K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $174K 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 571 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 | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoals | Shoals Public Library | 2.3 | 32 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Halbert Township | Shoals Public Library | 2.3 | 32 | B |
| Center Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
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.
- 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 Shoals
Does Shoals have a public library?
Yes. Shoals Public Library, 404 High Street, serves 4,077 people in and around Shoals (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shoals Public Library 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 Shoals’ library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Shoals’ civic life grade?
Shoals 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 Shoals.
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.