Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Graysville’s library lends 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Graysville Public Library serves Graysville’s 1,496 residents. Last year it lent 1,139 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,136 visits.
Graysville’s library, in brief
Most of Graysville’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 66% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Graysville Public Library serves 1,496 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Graysville Public Library lends 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 98% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Graysville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Graysville is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Graysville Public Library spends $34 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Graysville
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
3.2%
3.2% of Graysville’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 Graysville’s residents live; 2022.
66% of borrowing is digital
1,139 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,660 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
754 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Graysville Public Library serves 1,496 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Graysville Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
26 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Graysville last year.
Find it
Graysville Public Library, 136 Harrison Avenue, Graysville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Graysville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Graysville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 867 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graysville | Graysville Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 40 | D |
| Dayton | Clyde W. Roddy Public Library | — | 50 | 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 Graysville
Does Graysville have a public library?
Yes. Graysville Public Library, 136 Harrison Avenue, serves Graysville’s 1,496 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Graysville 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 Graysville’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Graysville’s civic life grade?
D Graysville is ahead of 6% 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 Graysville.
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.