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Carroll County Library

Huntingdon’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size

Carroll County Library serves 23,329 people in and around Huntingdon. Last year it lent 61K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.

625 High Street, Suite 102, Huntingdon 38344 · about 46 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 21% of U.S. towns · #107 of 150 in Tennessee. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
61K
2.6 per resident
Visits a year
25K
1.1 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
193
about 4 a week · 4,865 attended
Cardholders
31%
7,290 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Huntingdon’s library is like

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Carroll County Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Carroll County Library offered 193 programs last year, 8.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓

Runs on less money than most

Carroll County Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% 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; Carroll County Library serves 23,329 people in and around Huntingdon, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Huntingdon’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Huntingdon is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #107 of 150 in Tennessee. Huntingdon is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Huntingdon’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Huntingdon’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 21%
FewerMore
Tennessee towns we grade (150)Ahead of 29%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,526)Ahead of 22%

Carroll County Library spends $7 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Huntingdon is small (4,462 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

16 community nonprofits are registered in Huntingdon

3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation30.65 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans71.67 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

4.9%

4.9% of Huntingdon’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 Huntingdon’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.1 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 89%
Borrowing per resident 1.8 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 79%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 57%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 72%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 79%
Programs offered 8.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 88%
Cardholders 31% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 66%
Spending $7 per resident · typical $43Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Carroll County Library serves 23,329 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carroll County Library system. The library’s own count.

25K
visits
1.1 per resident
61K
loans, print + digital
2.6 per resident
193
programs & events
4,865 attended
7,290
library cards
31% of people served
Every open hour26items borrowed
Every week94people at a program
Every day118Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)11 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

61K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

61Kloans
Books & media (adults) 34%Kids’ books & media 33%E-books, audio & streaming 33%
From your couch

20,495 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Huntingdon →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–553
Ages 6–1126
Teens19
Adults37
All ages58
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

20K
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,865
people at programs
193
programs
The building

Find it

Carroll County Library, 625 High Street, Suite 102, Huntingdon.

46
hours open a week
5,291
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carroll County Library branch.

New in Huntingdon? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $6.74 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Huntingdon cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$7 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $160K.

Local taxes 93%State 3%Federal 2%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $160K 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 7,290 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Carroll County Library serves 23,329 people in and around Huntingdon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Huntingdon.

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 Huntingdon

Does Huntingdon have a public library?

Yes. Carroll County Library, 625 High Street, Suite 102, serves 23,329 people in and around Huntingdon (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Carroll County 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 Huntingdon’s library?

It logged 1.1 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Huntingdon’s civic life grade?

C− Huntingdon is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #107 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 Huntingdon.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.