Photo: Walker Kinsler · CC BY-SA 4.0Rogersville’s library is a branch of Hawkins County Library System, which lends less per resident than 81% of systems its size
Rogersville’s library is the H. B. Stamps Memorial Library, a branch of Hawkins County Library System, which serves 53,044 people and lent 78K items last year.
The short version on Rogersville’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Hawkins County Library System sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Hawkins County Library System offered 165 programs last year, 3.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 165 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Hawkins County Library System spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Rogersville’s library is a branch of Hawkins County Library System, so they cover the whole system (53,044 people), not just the Rogersville branch.
What’s behind Rogersville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rogersville is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #28 of 150 in Tennessee. Rogersville is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Rogersville’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Rogersville
3.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Rogersville’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 Rogersville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hawkins County Library System serves 53,044 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hawkins County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
78K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,680 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
H. B. Stamps Memorial Library, 407 East Main St., Rogersville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hawkins County Library System branch.
New in Rogersville? 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 $3.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rogersville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $356K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $356K 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 1,149 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogersville | H. B. Stamps Memorial Library | — | 50 | B |
| Surgoinsville | Surgoinsville Public Library | — | 28 | 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.
- System-wide. H. B. Stamps Memorial Library is one branch of Hawkins County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 53,044 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 Rogersville
Does Rogersville have a public library?
Yes: H. B. Stamps Memorial Library, 407 East Main St., is a branch of Hawkins County Library System, which serves 53,044 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hawkins County Library System 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 Rogersville’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Rogersville’s civic life grade?
B Rogersville is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Rogersville.
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.