White Plains · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Algood’s library is a branch of Putnam County Library, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
Algood’s library is the Algood Branch Library, a branch of Putnam County Library, which serves 83,844 people and lent 345K items last year.
What Algood’s library is like
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Putnam County Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Putnam County Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 66% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Algood’s library is a branch of Putnam County Library, so they cover the whole system (83,844 people), not just the Algood branch.
What’s behind Algood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Algood is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #105 of 150 in Tennessee. Algood is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Putnam County Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Algood
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of Algood’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.7% in the typical Tennessee 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 Algood’s residents live; 2022.
42% of borrowing is digital
345K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
146,488 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Putnam County Library serves 83,844 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Putnam County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 18 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
Algood Branch Library, 125 Fourth Avenue North, Algood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Putnam County Library branch.
New in Algood? 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 $4.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Algood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 25,219 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algood | Algood Branch Library | — | 30 | C− |
| Cookeville | Putnam County Library | — | 60 | B |
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.
- System-wide. Algood Branch Library is one branch of Putnam County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 83,844 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 Algood
Does Algood have a public library?
Yes: Algood Branch Library, 125 Fourth Avenue North, is a branch of Putnam County Library, which serves 83,844 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Putnam 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 Algood’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Algood’s civic life grade?
C− Algood is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #105 of 150 in Tennessee. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Algood.
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.