Photo: The original uploader was Pollinator at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Murfreesboro’s library is a branch of Rutherford County Library System, which lends more per resident than 63% of systems its size
Murfreesboro’s library is the Linebaugh Public Library, a branch of Rutherford County Library System, which serves 327,503 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
Murfreesboro’s library, in brief
Open about 85 hours a week
The Murfreesboro branch is open about 85 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Rutherford County Library System spends $12 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
Four branches in Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro has four branches of the Rutherford County Library System, which serves 327,503 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
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; Murfreesboro’s library is a branch of Rutherford County Library System, so they cover the whole system (327,503 people), not just the Murfreesboro branch.
What’s behind Murfreesboro’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Murfreesboro is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #71 of 150 in Tennessee. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #155. Murfreesboro is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Murfreesboro’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$100K) 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 →
550 community nonprofits are registered in Murfreesboro
3.4 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 (195 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Murfreesboro’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 Murfreesboro’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Rutherford County Library System serves 327,503 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 93 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rutherford County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
441,391 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 33 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.
4 places to borrow in Murfreesboro
Linebaugh Public Library, 105 West Vine Street, Murfreesboro.
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 Rutherford County Library System branch.
New in Murfreesboro? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Rutherford County Library System branches in Murfreesboro
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $7.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Murfreesboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $28M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 83,503 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murfreesboro | Linebaugh Public Library fine-free | — | 85 | C |
| Smyrna | Smyrna Public Library fine-free | — | 75 | D |
| Rockvale | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Walterhill | 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. Linebaugh Public Library is one branch of Rutherford County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 327,503 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 Murfreesboro
Does Murfreesboro have a public library?
Yes: Linebaugh Public Library, 105 West Vine Street, is a branch of Rutherford County Library System, which serves 327,503 people. The branch is open about 85 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rutherford County Library System 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 Murfreesboro’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Murfreesboro’s civic life grade?
C Murfreesboro is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 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 Murfreesboro.
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.