Photo: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0Carlisle’s library runs 142 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Nicholas County Public Library serves 7,686 people in and around Carlisle. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
The short version on Carlisle’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 70% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 17%. The building also logs about 41 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 99% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Nicholas County Public Library ran 1,091 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 142 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 43,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
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; Nicholas County Public Library serves 7,686 people in and around Carlisle, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Carlisle’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Carlisle is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Carlisle is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($37K–$62K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Carlisle
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of Carlisle’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky 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 Carlisle’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Nicholas County Public Library serves 7,686 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, for the whole Nicholas County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,197 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Nicholas County Public Library, 223 North Broadway, Carlisle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Nicholas County Public Library branch.
New in Carlisle? 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 $2.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carlisle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $247K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $714K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $247K 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 3,527 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Nicholas County Public Library serves 7,686 people in and around Carlisle, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carlisle.
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 Carlisle
Does Carlisle have a public library?
Yes. Nicholas County Public Library, 223 North Broadway, serves 7,686 people in and around Carlisle (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nicholas County 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 Carlisle’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Carlisle’s civic life grade?
D Carlisle is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Carlisle.
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.