Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Lyles’ library is a branch of Hickman County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
Lyles’s library is the East Hickman Public Library, a branch of Hickman County Public Library, which serves 25,826 people and lent 51K items last year.
The short version on Lyles’s library
The Hickman County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Hickman County Public Library system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Hickman County Public Library system offered 111 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Hickman County Public Library system spends $9 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% 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; Lyles’s library is a branch of Hickman County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (25,826 people), not just the Lyles branch.
What’s behind Lyles’ civic life grade
Lyles isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hickman County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Lyles
Lyles is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
17.6%
17.6% of Lyles’ 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 Lyles’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hickman County Public Library serves 25,826 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hickman County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,768 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
111 programs a year
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
East Hickman Public Library, 5009 Hwy 100, Lyles.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hickman County Public Library branch.
New in Lyles? 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 $3.50 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lyles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $235K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $822K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $235K 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 13,565 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyles | East Hickman Public Library | — | 36 | — unincorporated |
| Bon Aqua Junction | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Wrigley | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. East Hickman Public Library is one branch of Hickman County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,826 people it serves.
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 Lyles
Does Lyles have a public library?
Yes: East Hickman Public Library, 5009 Hwy 100, is a branch of Hickman County Public Library, which serves 25,826 people. The branch is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hickman 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 Lyles’ library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lyles’ civic life grade?
Lyles isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hickman County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Lyles.
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.