Photo: Christopher Hollis · Public domainLawrenceburg’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Lawrence County Public Library serves 46,114 people in and around Lawrenceburg. Last year it lent 126K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
Lawrenceburg’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Lawrence County Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lawrence County Public Library offered 136 programs last year, 2.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 136 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 64 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Lawrence County Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Lawrence County Public Library serves 46,114 people in and around Lawrenceburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Lawrenceburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lawrenceburg is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #74 of 150 in Tennessee. Lawrenceburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lawrenceburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Lawrenceburg
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Lawrenceburg’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 Lawrenceburg’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lawrence County Public Library serves 46,114 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lawrence County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
126K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
53,104 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Lawrence County Public Library, 519 East Gaines Street, Lawrenceburg.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lawrence County Public Library branch.
New in Lawrenceburg? 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 $4.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lawrenceburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $454K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $454K 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 11,711 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lawrence County Public Library serves 46,114 people in and around Lawrenceburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Lawrenceburg.
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 Lawrenceburg
Does Lawrenceburg have a public library?
Yes. Lawrence County Public Library, 519 East Gaines Street, serves 46,114 people in and around Lawrenceburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawrence 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 Lawrenceburg’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lawrenceburg’s civic life grade?
C Lawrenceburg is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #74 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 Lawrenceburg.
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.