Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Tazewell’s library is a branch of Claiborne County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Tazewell’s library is the Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library, a branch of Claiborne County Public Library, which serves 32,654 people and lent 69K items last year.
What Tazewell’s library is like
The Claiborne County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Claiborne County Public Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Claiborne County Public Library system offered 164 programs last year, 5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Claiborne County Public Library system spends $5 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 164 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Tazewell’s library is a branch of Claiborne County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (32,654 people), not just the Tazewell branch.
What’s behind Tazewell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tazewell is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. Tazewell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Claiborne County Public Library spends $5 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$52K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Tazewell
1.9 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.0%
6.0% of Tazewell’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 Tazewell’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.
Claiborne County Public Library serves 32,654 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Claiborne County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
69K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,868 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
Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library, 1304 Old Knoxville Road, Tazewell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Claiborne County Public Library branch.
New in Tazewell? 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 $6.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tazewell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $175K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $175K 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 9,032 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tazewell | Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library fine-free | — | 47 | D |
| New Tazewell | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library is one branch of Claiborne County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 32,654 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 Tazewell
Does Tazewell have a public library?
Yes: Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library, 1304 Old Knoxville Road, is a branch of Claiborne County Public Library, which serves 32,654 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Claiborne 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 Tazewell’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Tazewell’s civic life grade?
D Tazewell is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Tazewell.
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.