Photo: Sam Poss · CC BY-SA 4.0Signal Mountain’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Town of Signal Mountain Library serves Signal Mountain’s 8,916 residents. Last year it lent 59K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
Signal Mountain’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 76% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 80%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Town of Signal Mountain Library offered 69 programs last year, 7.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 69 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 32 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 83% 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.
What’s behind Signal Mountain’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Signal Mountain is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #46 of 150 in Tennessee. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Signal Mountain
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 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.
10.6%
10.6% of Signal Mountain’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 Signal Mountain’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Town of Signal Mountain Library serves 8,916 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
2,008 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
69 programs a year
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
Town of Signal Mountain Library, 1114 James Boulevard, Signal Mountain.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Signal Mountain? 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 $4.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Signal Mountain cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $249K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $249K 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 6,677 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Mountain | Town of Signal Mountain Library | 6.6 | 36 | B− |
| Chattanooga | Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library | 5.9 | 50 | C |
| Fairmount | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Walden | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Town of Signal Mountain Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Signal Mountain
Does Signal Mountain have a public library?
Yes. Town of Signal Mountain Library, 1114 James Boulevard, serves Signal Mountain’s 8,916 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Signal Mountain 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 Signal Mountain’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Signal Mountain’s civic life grade?
B− Signal Mountain is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #46 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 Signal Mountain.
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.