Photo: Wdyo222 · CC BY-SA 4.0Princeton’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
George Coon Public Library serves 12,551 people in and around Princeton from 2 locations. Last year it lent 45K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
What stands out about George Coon Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Princeton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Princeton is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #8 of 126 in Kentucky. Princeton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Princeton’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Princeton
6.9 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Princeton’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 Princeton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
George Coon Public Library serves 12,551 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole George Coon Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,673 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
2 places to borrow in Princeton
George Coon Public Library, 114 South Harrison Street, Princeton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every George Coon Public Library branch.
New in Princeton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other George Coon Public Library branches in Princeton
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Princeton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $510K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $759K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $510K 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 5,826 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. George Coon Public Library serves 12,551 people in and around Princeton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Princeton.
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 Princeton
Does Princeton have a public library?
Yes. George Coon Public Library, 114 South Harrison Street, serves 12,551 people in and around Princeton (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is George Coon 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 Princeton’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Princeton’s civic life grade?
A− Princeton is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Princeton.
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.