Photo: Amin Eshaiker · CC BY-SA 4.0Kiln’s library is a branch of Hancock County Library, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Kiln’s library is the Kiln Public Library, a branch of Hancock County Library, which serves 46,159 people and lent 146K items last year.
What Kiln’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 94% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. The building also logs about 192 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 79% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 1,435 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 250 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Kiln’s library is a branch of Hancock County Library, so they cover the whole system (46,159 people), not just the Kiln branch.
What’s behind Kiln’s civic life grade
Kiln isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hancock County Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Kiln
Kiln is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.4%
6.4% of Kiln’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Kiln’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hancock County Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hancock County Library serves 46,159 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
146K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
41,457 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
Find it
Kiln Public Library, 17065 Highway 603, Kiln.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hancock County Library branch.
New in Kiln? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kiln cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 17,055 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Kiln Public Library is one branch of Hancock County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 46,159 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 Kiln
Does Kiln have a public library?
Yes: Kiln Public Library, 17065 Highway 603, is a branch of Hancock County Library, which serves 46,159 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hancock 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 Kiln’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kiln’s civic life grade?
Kiln isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hancock County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Kiln.
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.