Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Memphis’ library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Memphis Public Library and Information Center serves 791,686 people in and around Memphis from 17 locations. Last year it lent 1.2M books, movies and e-books and logged 907K visits.
Memphis’s library, in brief
Memphis Public Library and Information Center is used less than most libraries its size
Memphis Public Library and Information Center records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. How it compares ↓
17 branches in Memphis
Memphis has 17 branches of the Memphis Public Library and Information Center, which serves 791,686 people in and around Memphis. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 4,744 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,804 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; Memphis Public Library and Information Center serves 791,686 people in and around Memphis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Memphis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Memphis is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #92 of 150 in Tennessee. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #190. Memphis is graded on two of the three inputs. Memphis’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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.
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 →
2,436 community nonprofits are registered in Memphis
3.9 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 (804 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 121 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.9%
4.9% of Memphis’ 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 Memphis’ residents live; 2022.
48% of borrowing is digital
1.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
576,499 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Memphis Public Library and Information Center serves 791,686 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Memphis Public Library and Information Center system. The library’s own count.
About 35 kids’ programs 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.
17 places to borrow in Memphis
Memphis Public Library and Information Center, 3030 Poplar Avenue, Memphis.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Memphis Public Library and Information Center branch.
New in Memphis? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Memphis Public Library and Information Center branches in Memphis
And 4 more in Memphis.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Memphis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $23M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $23M 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 295,299 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown | Germantown Community Library | 10.0 | 56 | A |
| Memphis | Memphis Public Library and Information Center fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Bartlett | Bartlett Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | C− |
| Southaven | M. R. Davis Public Library | — | 53 | D |
| Olive Branch | B. J. Chain Public Library | — | 59 | D |
| West Memphis | West Memphis Public Library | — | — | D |
| Lakeland | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Memphis Public Library and Information Center serves 791,686 people in and around Memphis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Memphis.
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 Memphis
Does Memphis have a public library?
Yes. Memphis Public Library and Information Center, 3030 Poplar Avenue, serves 791,686 people in and around Memphis (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Memphis Public Library and Information Center 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 Memphis’ library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Memphis’ civic life grade?
C Memphis is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #92 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 Memphis.
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.