Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Oliver Springs’ library logs 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Oliver Springs Public Library serves Oliver Springs’s 3,398 residents. Last year it lent 3,009 books, movies and e-books and logged 427 visits.
Oliver Springs’s library, in brief
Most of Oliver Springs’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 91% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Oliver Springs Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Oliver Springs Public Library records 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $43. 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 Oliver Springs’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oliver Springs is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns, #145 of 150 in Tennessee. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Oliver Springs’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Oliver Springs Public Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Oliver Springs
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
5.0%
5.0% of Oliver Springs’ 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 Oliver Springs’ residents live; 2022.
91% of borrowing is digital
3,009 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,003 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
2,734 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Oliver Springs Public Library serves 3,398 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Oliver Springs last year.
Find it
Oliver Springs Public Library, 610 Walker Avenue., Oliver Springs.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oliver Springs? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oliver Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $56K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $45K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $56K 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 104 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Springs | Oliver Springs Public Library | 0.9 | 40 | D− |
| Coalfield | Coalfield Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 22 | D− |
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 Oliver Springs
Does Oliver Springs have a public library?
Yes. Oliver Springs Public Library, 610 Walker Avenue., serves Oliver Springs’ 3,398 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oliver Springs Public 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 Oliver Springs’ library?
It logged 0.1 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Oliver Springs’ civic life grade?
D− Oliver Springs is ahead of 3% of U.S. towns on civic life, #145 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 Oliver Springs.
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.