Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Greeneville’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Greeneville-Greene County Public Library serves 70,033 people in and around Greeneville from 2 locations. Last year it lent 128K books, movies and e-books and drew 2,218 people to its programs.
Greeneville’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Greeneville-Greene County Public Library offered 172 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Greeneville-Greene County Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
30% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 67%. What your card is worth ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Greeneville-Greene County Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% 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; Greeneville-Greene County Public Library serves 70,033 people in and around Greeneville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Greeneville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Greeneville is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #14 of 150 in Tennessee. Greeneville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Greeneville’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
82 community nonprofits are registered in Greeneville
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Greeneville’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 Greeneville’s residents live; 2022.
48% of borrowing is digital
128K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
61,786 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Greeneville-Greene County Public Library serves 70,033 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Greeneville-Greene County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 17,375 visits against 128K loans, so we leave the count out.
About 2 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.
2 places to borrow in Greeneville
Greeneville-Greene County Public Library, 210 N. Main Street, Greeneville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Greeneville-Greene County Public Library branch.
New in Greeneville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Greeneville-Greene County Public Library branches in Greeneville
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greeneville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $451K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $451K 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 16,891 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.
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. Greeneville-Greene County Public Library serves 70,033 people in and around Greeneville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Greeneville.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Greeneville
Does Greeneville have a public library?
Yes. Greeneville-Greene County Public Library, 210 N. Main Street, serves 70,033 people in and around Greeneville (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greeneville-Greene County 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 Greeneville’s library?
It lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 172 programs that drew 2,218 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Greeneville’s civic life grade?
A− Greeneville is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 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 Greeneville.
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.