Coalfield’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Coalfield Public Library serves 3,020 people in and around Coalfield. Last year it lent 1,622 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,074 visits.
What Coalfield’s library is like
Coalfield Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Coalfield Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $6 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of Coalfield’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 76% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Coalfield Public Library offered 17 programs last year, 5.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
Coalfield Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Oliver Springs Public Library in Oliver Springs, next door, is open about 40 hours a week. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Coalfield Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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 Coalfield’s civic life grade
On library visits and volunteering, Coalfield is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. Coalfield 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.
Coalfield Public Library spends $6 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) 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 →
Volunteering in Coalfield
Coalfield is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.9%
4.9% of Coalfield’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 Coalfield’s residents live; 2022.
76% of borrowing is digital
1,622 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,535 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
1,236 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Coalfield Public Library serves 3,020 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
17 programs a year
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
Coalfield Public Library, 112 Jerry Jones Road, Coalfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Coalfield? 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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Coalfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $17K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $30K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17K 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 118 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Springs | Oliver Springs Public Library | 0.9 | 40 | D− |
| Coalfield | Coalfield Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 22 | 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 Coalfield
Does Coalfield have a public library?
Yes. Coalfield Public Library, 112 Jerry Jones Road, serves 3,020 people in and around Coalfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coalfield 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 Coalfield’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Coalfield’s civic life grade?
D− Coalfield is ahead of 2% 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 Coalfield.
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.