Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Pulaski’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Giles County Public Library serves 26,633 people in and around Pulaski. Last year it lent 77K books, movies and e-books and logged 35K visits.
Pulaski’s library, in brief
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Giles County Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Giles County Public Library serves 26,633 people in and around Pulaski, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Pulaski’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pulaski is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #114 of 150 in Tennessee. Pulaski is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Pulaski’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Giles County Public Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$61K) 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Pulaski
3.4 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Pulaski’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 Pulaski’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
77K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
34,045 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Giles County Public Library serves 26,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Giles County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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.
Find it
Giles County Public Library, 122 South Second Street, Pulaski.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Giles County Public Library branch.
New in Pulaski? 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 $3.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pulaski cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $373K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $373K 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 6,256 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Giles County Public Library serves 26,633 people in and around Pulaski, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Pulaski.
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 Pulaski
Does Pulaski have a public library?
Yes. Giles County Public Library, 122 South Second Street, serves 26,633 people in and around Pulaski (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Giles County Public 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 Pulaski’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Pulaski’s civic life grade?
C− Pulaski is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #114 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 Pulaski.
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.