Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Tellico Plains’ library runs 82 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Tellico Plains Public Library serves Tellico Plains’s 2,624 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
What Tellico Plains’s library is like
More library cards than residents
5,155 cards for 2,624 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
76% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 23%. What your card is worth ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Tellico Plains Public Library spends $18 per resident, less than 86% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still busier than 74% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. 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 Tellico Plains’ civic life grade
Tellico Plains isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Tellico Plains Public Library serves 2,624 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
9,894 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Tellico Plains last year.
Find it
Tellico Plains Public Library, 209 Highway 165, Tellico Plains.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tellico Plains? 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 $9.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tellico Plains cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $444K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 5,155 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Tellico Plains
Does Tellico Plains have a public library?
Yes. Tellico Plains Public Library, 209 Highway 165, serves Tellico Plains’ 2,624 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tellico Plains 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 Tellico Plains’ library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tellico Plains’ civic life grade?
Tellico Plains isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Tellico Plains.
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.