Photo: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0Grayson’s library is a branch of Carter County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Grayson’s library is the Grayson Branch, a branch of Carter County Public Library, which serves 26,366 people and lent 16K items last year.
What Grayson’s library is like
The Carter County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Carter County Public Library system records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $4 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Carter County Public Library system offered 122 programs last year, 4.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
35% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 51%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Carter County Public Library system spends $4 per resident, less than 99% 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; Grayson’s library is a branch of Carter County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (26,366 people), not just the Grayson branch.
What’s behind Grayson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grayson is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #114 of 126 in Kentucky. Grayson 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.
Carter County Public Library spends $4 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($21K–$34K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Grayson
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.3%
5.3% of Grayson’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 Grayson’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Carter County Public Library serves 26,366 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carter County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,862 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
122 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Grayson Branch, 116 W Main Street, Grayson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carter County Public Library branch.
New in Grayson? 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 $2.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grayson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $118K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $291K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $118K 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 9,453 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Grayson Branch is one branch of Carter County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 26,366 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 Grayson
Does Grayson have a public library?
Yes: Grayson Branch, 116 W Main Street, is a branch of Carter County Public Library, which serves 26,366 people. The branch is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carter 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 Grayson’s library?
It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Grayson’s civic life grade?
D Grayson is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 of 126 in Kentucky. 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 Grayson.
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.