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Downtown shepherdsvillePhoto: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bullitt County Library District

Shepherdsville’s library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size

Bullitt County Library District serves 84,863 people in and around Shepherdsville. Last year it lent 477K books, movies and e-books and logged 259K visits.

740 Conestoga Parkway, Shepherdsville 40165 · about 64 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 18% of U.S. towns · #95 of 126 in Kentucky. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (502) 543-7675 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
477K
5.6 per resident
Visits a year
259K
3.1 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
2,490
about 48 a week · 61K attended
Cardholders
44%
36,999 cards
Open
64 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Shepherdsville’s library is like

Open about 64 hours a week

The Shepherdsville branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓

41% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 78% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Bullitt County Library District serves 84,863 people in and around Shepherdsville, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Shepherdsville’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shepherdsville is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #95 of 126 in Kentucky. Shepherdsville 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.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Shepherdsville’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.1 per 1,000 residents · KY towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7C+Volunteering6.8% of adults 25–44 · KY towns 6.6% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 18%
FewerMore
Kentucky towns we grade (126)Ahead of 25%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $54K–$89K (9,099)Ahead of 17%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$89K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

31 community nonprofits are registered in Shepherdsville

2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture30.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation50.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans80.52 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education40.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.06 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other40.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

6.8%

6.8% of Shepherdsville’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 Shepherdsville’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 18 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Shepherdsville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5609
Ages 6–11335
Teens283
Adults1,010
All ages253
Little ones
11.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

129K
kids’ books & media borrowed
61K
people at programs
2,490
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.1 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 59%
Borrowing per resident 3.3 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 55%
Digital borrowing 2.3 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 78%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 54%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 87%
Programs offered 29.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 86%
Cardholders 44% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 59%
Spending $78 per resident · typical $40Higher than 83%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Bullitt County Library District serves 84,863 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bullitt County Library District system. The library’s own count.

259K
visits
3.1 per resident
477K
loans, print + digital
5.6 per resident
2,490
programs & events
61K attended
37K
library cards
44% of people served
Every open hour31items borrowed
Every week1,165people at a program
Every day241Wi-Fi sessions
82 staff (full-time equivalent)102 public computers
What people borrow

41% of borrowing is digital

477K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

477Kloans
Books & media (adults) 32%Kids’ books & media 27%E-books, audio & streaming 41%
From your couch

193,525 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Bullitt County Library District, 740 Conestoga Parkway, Shepherdsville.

Directions(502) 543-7675
64
hours open a week
45,000
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bullitt County Library District branch.

New in Shepherdsville? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.20 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shepherdsville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$78 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.7M.

Local taxes 93%Federal 0%Gifts & other 7%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.7M 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 36,999 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Bullitt County Library District serves 84,863 people in and around Shepherdsville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shepherdsville.

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 Shepherdsville

Does Shepherdsville have a public library?

Yes. Bullitt County Library District, 740 Conestoga Parkway, serves 84,863 people in and around Shepherdsville (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Bullitt County Library District 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 Shepherdsville’s library?

It logged 3.1 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Shepherdsville’s civic life grade?

C− Shepherdsville is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #95 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 Shepherdsville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.