Photo: DwayneP. The original uploader was DwayneP at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Lenoir City’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lenoir City Public Library serves 24,314 people in and around Lenoir City. Last year it lent 88K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
Lenoir City’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Lenoir City Public Library offered 60 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Lenoir City Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, below 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Lenoir City Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Lenoir City Public Library serves more than Lenoir City
The library’s service area covers 24,314 people in and around Lenoir City, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Lenoir City Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% 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.
What’s behind Lenoir City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lenoir City is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #131 of 150 in Tennessee. Lenoir City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lenoir City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Lenoir City Public Library spends $6 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) 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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Lenoir City
2.4 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 (13 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.
5.1%
5.1% of Lenoir City’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 Lenoir City’s residents live; 2022.
42% of borrowing is digital
88K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
37,282 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lenoir City Public Library serves 24,314 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
60 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
Lenoir City Public Library, 100 West Broadway, Lenoir City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lenoir City? 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 $9.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lenoir City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $151K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $151K 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 2,822 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Lenoir City
Does Lenoir City have a public library?
Yes. Lenoir City Public Library, 100 West Broadway, serves 24,314 people in and around Lenoir City (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lenoir City 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 Lenoir City’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Lenoir City’s civic life grade?
D Lenoir City is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life, #131 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 Lenoir City.
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.