Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Chapel Hill’s library is a branch of Marshall County Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 77% of systems its size
Chapel Hill’s library is the Chapel Hill Branch Library, a branch of Marshall County Memorial Library, which serves 36,961 people and lent 99K items last year.
Chapel Hill’s library, in brief
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 380 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 158 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Marshall County Memorial Library system spends $12 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Chapel Hill’s library is a branch of Marshall County Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (36,961 people), not just the Chapel Hill branch.
What’s behind Chapel Hill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chapel Hill is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. Chapel Hill 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.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$94K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Chapel Hill
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Chapel Hill’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 Chapel Hill’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Marshall County Memorial Library serves 36,961 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marshall County Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
99K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
36,305 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Chapel Hill Branch Library, 2202 Unionville Rd, Chapel Hill.
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 Marshall County Memorial Library branch.
New in Chapel Hill? 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 $3.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chapel Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $438K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $438K 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 17,113 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Chapel Hill Branch Library is one branch of Marshall County Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 36,961 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 Chapel Hill
Does Chapel Hill have a public library?
Yes: Chapel Hill Branch Library, 2202 Unionville Rd, is a branch of Marshall County Memorial Library, which serves 36,961 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marshall County Memorial 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 Chapel Hill’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chapel Hill’s civic life grade?
C Chapel Hill is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Chapel Hill.
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.