Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSmithland’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Livingston County Public Library serves 8,892 people in and around Smithland. Last year it lent 6,910 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,500 visits.
The short version on Smithland’s library
Livingston County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Livingston County Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Livingston County Public Library offered 21 programs last year, 2.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Livingston County Public Library spends $5 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Livingston County Public Library serves 8,892 people in and around Smithland, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Smithland’s civic life grade
Smithland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
45% of borrowing is digital
6,910 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,143 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Livingston County Public Library serves 8,892 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Livingston County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
21 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.
Find it
Livingston County Public Library, 321 Court Street, Smithland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Livingston County Public Library branch.
New in Smithland? 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 $2.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Smithland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $44K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $123K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $44K 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 3,702 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Livingston County Public Library serves 8,892 people in and around Smithland, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Smithland.
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 Smithland
Does Smithland have a public library?
Yes. Livingston County Public Library, 321 Court Street, serves 8,892 people in and around Smithland (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Livingston County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Smithland’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Smithland’s civic life grade?
Smithland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Smithland.
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.