Photo: Nyttend · Public domainNicholasville’s library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Jessamine County Public Library serves 55,017 people in and around Nicholasville. Last year it lent 875K books, movies and e-books and logged 206K visits.
Nicholasville’s library, in brief
Programs draw a crowd
60,000 people came to the system’s 1,230 programs last year: 1.1 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Jessamine County Public Library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Nicholasville branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Jessamine County Public Library serves 55,017 people in and around Nicholasville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Nicholasville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nicholasville is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #51 of 126 in Kentucky. Nicholasville is graded on two of the three inputs. Nicholasville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
154 community nonprofits are registered in Nicholasville
4.8 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 (55 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Nicholasville’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 Nicholasville’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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Jessamine County Public Library serves 55,017 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 120 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jessamine County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
875K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
356,773 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Jessamine County Public Library, 600 South Main Street, Nicholasville.
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 Jessamine County Public Library branch.
New in Nicholasville? 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 Nicholasville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.9M 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 46,604 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jessamine County Public Library serves 55,017 people in and around Nicholasville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Nicholasville.
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 Nicholasville
Does Nicholasville have a public library?
Yes. Jessamine County Public Library, 600 South Main Street, serves 55,017 people in and around Nicholasville (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jessamine 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 Nicholasville’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 15.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Nicholasville’s civic life grade?
B− Nicholasville is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #51 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 Nicholasville.
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.