Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Hickory Flat’s library is a branch of Benton County Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Hickory Flat’s library is the Hickory Flat Public Library, a branch of Benton County Library, which serves 7,438 people and lent 6,430 items last year.
The short version on Hickory Flat’s library
The Benton County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Benton County Library system records 1 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: $14 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Benton County Library system offered 43 programs last year, 5.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Federal money pays a real share
6% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 65% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Benton County Library system spends $14 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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; Hickory Flat’s library is a branch of Benton County Library, so they cover the whole system (7,438 people), not just the Hickory Flat branch.
What’s behind Hickory Flat’s civic life grade
Hickory Flat 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.
Benton County Library serves 7,438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Benton County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,430 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
404 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
43 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Hickory Flat Public Library, 260 Oak Street, Hickory Flat.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Benton County Library branch.
New in Hickory Flat? 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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hickory Flat cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $108K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $162K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $108K 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 1,763 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hickory Flat Public Library is one branch of Benton County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,438 people it serves.
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 Hickory Flat
Does Hickory Flat have a public library?
Yes: Hickory Flat Public Library, 260 Oak Street, is a branch of Benton County Library, which serves 7,438 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Benton County 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 Hickory Flat’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hickory Flat’s civic life grade?
Hickory Flat 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 Hickory Flat.
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.