Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY-SA 4.0Monteagle’s library runs 3.9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
May Justus Memorial Library serves Monteagle’s 3,363 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,863 visits.
What Monteagle’s library is like
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans, more per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 51%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
May Justus Memorial Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
May Justus Memorial Library holds 23,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Monteagle’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Monteagle is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Monteagle is graded on two of the three inputs. Monteagle’s 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 ($48K–$79K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Monteagle
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of Monteagle’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 Monteagle’s residents live; 2022.
49% of borrowing is digital
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
9,655 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
May Justus Memorial Library serves 3,363 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
13 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Monteagle last year.
Find it
May Justus Memorial Library, 24 Dixie Lee Avenue, Monteagle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Monteagle? 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 $7.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Monteagle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $308K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 823 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monteagle | May Justus Memorial Library fine-free | 5.9 | 40 | C |
| Tracy City | Tracy City Public Library | — | — | 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.
- 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 Monteagle
Does Monteagle have a public library?
Yes. May Justus Memorial Library, 24 Dixie Lee Avenue, serves Monteagle’s 3,363 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is May Justus Memorial 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 Monteagle’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Monteagle’s civic life grade?
C Monteagle is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Monteagle.
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.