Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0Knoxville’s library logs 2.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Knoxville Public Library serves 1,595 people in and around Knoxville. Last year it lent 5,964 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,700 visits.
Knoxville’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
87% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 4%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 68 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 25 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Knoxville Public Library spends $107 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. 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; Knoxville Public Library serves 1,595 people in and around Knoxville, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Knoxville’s civic life grade
Knoxville 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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Knoxville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $170K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $99K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $170K 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 715 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Knoxville Public Library serves 1,595 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Knoxville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,964 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
644 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
68 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
Knoxville Public Library, 112 E Main St., Knoxville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Knoxville Public Library branch.
New in Knoxville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Knoxville Public Library serves 1,595 people in and around Knoxville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Knoxville.
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 Knoxville
Does Knoxville have a public library?
Yes. Knoxville Public Library, 112 E Main St., serves 1,595 people in and around Knoxville (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Knoxville 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 Knoxville’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Knoxville’s civic life grade?
Knoxville 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 Knoxville.
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.