Smyrna’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Smyrna Public Library serves 1,237 people in and around Smyrna. Last year it lent 841 print books and media and logged 2,063 visits.
Smyrna’s library, in brief
Smyrna Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Smyrna Public Library records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $24 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Smyrna Public Library serves 1,237 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Smyrna Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 7% of the people Smyrna Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Smyrna Public Library serves more than Smyrna
The library’s service area covers 1,237 people in and around Smyrna, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Smyrna’s civic life grade
Smyrna 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Smyrna Public Library serves 1,237 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Smyrna Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
841 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,027 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
63 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Smyrna Public Library, 7 East Main Street, Smyrna.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Smyrna? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Smyrna cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K 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 88 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Smyrna
Does Smyrna have a public library?
Yes. Smyrna Public Library, 7 East Main Street, serves 1,237 people in and around Smyrna (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Smyrna Public 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 Smyrna’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Smyrna’s civic life grade?
Smyrna 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 Smyrna.
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.