Thomas Chapel C.M.E. Church · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHickman’s library is a branch of Fulton County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 56% of systems its size
Hickman’s library is the Hickman Public, a branch of Fulton County Public Library, which serves 6,338 people and lent 28K items last year.
What Hickman’s library is like
The branch is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990. Today’s library there has 3,970 square feet. The building ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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; Hickman’s library is a branch of Fulton County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (6,338 people), not just the Hickman branch.
What’s behind Hickman’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hickman is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns. Hickman is graded on two of the three inputs. Hickman’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) it does better, ahead of 61%.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Hickman
5.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.8%
4.8% of Hickman’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 Hickman’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1990
Hickman Public, 902 Moscow, Hickman.
Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fulton County Public Library branch.
New in Hickman? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 3, 1990. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Hickman, Kentucky MPS.
The Carnegie Library in Hickman, Kentucky is a Carnegie library building from 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It is a one-story brick Colonial Revival-style building.
More about the building →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.
Fulton County Public Library serves 6,338 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fulton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
213 programs a year
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hickman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $294K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $459K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $294K 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 2,598 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hickman Public is one branch of Fulton County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,338 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 Hickman
Does Hickman have a public library?
Yes: Hickman Public, 902 Moscow, is a branch of Fulton County Public Library, which serves 6,338 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fulton County Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hickman’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hickman’s civic life grade?
C+ Hickman is ahead of 41% 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 Hickman.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.