Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Kingston’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Caldwell County Library serves 6,867 people in and around Kingston. Last year it lent 7,501 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,213 visits.
What Kingston’s library is like
Caldwell County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Caldwell County Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Caldwell County Library offered 22 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Caldwell County Library spends $15 per resident, less than 91% 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; Caldwell County Library serves 6,867 people in and around Kingston, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Kingston’s civic life grade
Kingston 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Caldwell County Library serves 6,867 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Caldwell County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,501 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,162 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
22 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
Caldwell County Library, 275 S. Washington, Kingston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Caldwell County Library branch.
New in Kingston? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kingston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $100K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $121K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $100K 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 976 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Caldwell County Library serves 6,867 people in and around Kingston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Kingston.
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 Kingston
Does Kingston have a public library?
Yes. Caldwell County Library, 275 S. Washington, serves 6,867 people in and around Kingston (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Caldwell County 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 Kingston’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kingston’s civic life grade?
Kingston 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 Kingston.
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.