Photo: Nyttend · Public domainDawson Springs’ library is a branch of Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Dawson Springs’s library is the Dawson Springs Branch Library, a branch of Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library, which serves 44,929 people and lent 79K items last year.
Dawson Springs’s library, in brief
The Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
41% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 59%. What your card is worth ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 57% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library system offered 243 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library system spends $10 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Dawson Springs’s library is a branch of Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library, so they cover the whole system (44,929 people), not just the Dawson Springs branch.
What’s behind Dawson Springs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dawson Springs is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. Dawson Springs is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Dawson Springs’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 Dawson Springs
2.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Dawson Springs’ 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 Dawson Springs’ residents live; 2022.
57% of borrowing is digital
79K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
45,213 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library serves 44,929 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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.
Find it
Dawson Springs Branch Library, 103 West Ramsey Street, Dawson Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library branch.
New in Dawson Springs? 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 $2.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dawson Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $469K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $469K 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 29,667 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dawson Springs Branch Library is one branch of Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 44,929 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 Dawson Springs
Does Dawson Springs have a public library?
Yes: Dawson Springs Branch Library, 103 West Ramsey Street, is a branch of Hopkins County-Madisonville Public Library, which serves 44,929 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hopkins County-Madisonville 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 Dawson Springs’ 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 Dawson Springs’ civic life grade?
B− Dawson Springs is ahead of 46% 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 Dawson Springs.
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.