Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Norris’ library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Norris Community Library serves 9,367 people in and around Norris. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
Norris’s library, in brief
Norris Community Library is used less than most libraries its size
Norris Community Library records 1.2 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: $16 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of Norris’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 60% of loans, more per resident than at 73% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 40%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Norris Community Library serves more than Norris
The library’s service area covers 9,367 people in and around Norris, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Norris’ civic life grade
Norris isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Norris
10.3 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
60% of borrowing is digital
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
17,083 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Norris Community Library serves 9,367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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.
Find it
Norris Community Library, One Norris Square, Norris.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Norris? 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 $3.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $154K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $469K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $154K 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 5,018 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Norris
Does Norris have a public library?
Yes. Norris Community Library, One Norris Square, serves 9,367 people in and around Norris (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norris Community 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 Norris’ library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Norris’ civic life grade?
Norris isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Norris.
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.