Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Jasper’s library runs 10 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Carolyn Stewart Public Library serves 12,960 people in and around Jasper. Last year it lent 57K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Jasper’s library
Carolyn Stewart Public Library serves more than Jasper
The library’s service area covers 12,960 people in and around Jasper, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 134 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 29 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Jasper’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jasper is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #112 of 150 in Tennessee. Jasper is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Jasper’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Carolyn Stewart Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$91K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Jasper
2.8 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of Jasper’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 Jasper’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carolyn Stewart Public Library serves 12,960 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
57K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
15,611 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
134 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
Carolyn Stewart Public Library, 14 West Second Street, Jasper.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jasper? 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 $3.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jasper cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $281K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $914K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $281K 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 9,241 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper | Carolyn Stewart Public Library | 4.4 | 45 | C− |
| Kimball | None of its own | — | — | 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 Jasper
Does Jasper have a public library?
Yes. Carolyn Stewart Public Library, 14 West Second Street, serves 12,960 people in and around Jasper (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carolyn Stewart 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 Jasper’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Jasper’s civic life grade?
C− Jasper is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #112 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 Jasper.
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.