Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 3.0Mount Carmel’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Mt. Carmel Library serves Mount Carmel’s 5,556 residents. Last year it lent 8,642 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,716 visits.
Mount Carmel’s library, in brief
Mt. Carmel Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mt. Carmel Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
86% of the 85 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Mt. Carmel Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% 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 Mount Carmel’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Mount Carmel is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #146 of 150 in Tennessee. Mount Carmel is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Mount Carmel’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Mt. Carmel Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$86K) 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 Mount Carmel
1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 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.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mt. Carmel Library serves 5,556 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,642 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,053 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,013 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
85 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mount Carmel last year.
Find it
Mt. Carmel Library, 100 1/2 Main Street, Mt. Carmel.
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 Mount Carmel? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Carmel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $67K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $138K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $67K 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 1,358 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsport | Kingsport Public Library | 5.8 | 61 | C+ |
| Mount Carmel | Mt. Carmel Library fine-free | 1.6 | 44 | D− |
| Church Hill | Church Hill Public Library | — | 46 | B− |
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 Mount Carmel
Does Mount Carmel have a public library?
Yes. Mt. Carmel Library, 100 1/2 Main Street, serves Mount Carmel’s 5,556 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mt. Carmel 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 Mount Carmel’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mount Carmel’s civic life grade?
D− Mount Carmel is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #146 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 Mount Carmel.
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.