Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Greenville’s library lends 8.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Greenville Public Library serves 12,642 people in and around Greenville. Last year it lent 135K books, movies and e-books and logged 70K visits.
Greenville’s library, in brief
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Greenville Public Library is above the middle on six of the seven per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with five in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Greenville out-borrows every town next door
At 10.6 loans per resident, Greenville leads the four towns here. The closest is Smithfield, at 10.6. Libraries next door ↓
Greenville Public Library serves more than Greenville
The library’s service area covers 12,642 people in and around Greenville, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Greenville invests in its library
Greenville Public Library spends $95 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 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.
What’s behind Greenville’s civic life grade
Greenville 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
135K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
31,579 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Greenville Public Library serves 12,642 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Greenville Public Library, 573 Putnam Pike, Smithfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Greenville? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greenville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 6,078 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Greenville borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | Greenville Public Library | 10.6 | 59 | — graded as part of its town |
| Smithfield | Greenville Public Library | 10.6 | 59 | C |
| Glocester | Harmony Library | 5.5 | 37 | B+ |
| Johnston | Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library fine-free | 2.4 | 57 | D− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Greenville
Does Greenville have a public library?
Yes. Greenville Public Library, 573 Putnam Pike, serves 12,642 people in and around Greenville (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greenville Public 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 Greenville’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 10.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Greenville’s civic life grade?
Greenville 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 Greenville.
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.