Photo: Flickr user chiacomo · CC BY 2.0Tiptonville’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Tiptonville Public Library serves 4,296 people in and around Tiptonville. Last year it lent 3,149 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,678 visits.
The short version on Tiptonville’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
77% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 22%. What your card is worth ↓
Tiptonville Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Tiptonville Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 58% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Tiptonville Public Library serves 4,296 people in and around Tiptonville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Tiptonville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tiptonville is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #137 of 150 in Tennessee. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Tiptonville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Tiptonville Public Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($17K–$29K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Tiptonville
2.5 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of Tiptonville’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 Tiptonville’s residents live; 2022.
58% of borrowing is digital
3,149 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,816 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Tiptonville Public Library serves 4,296 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tiptonville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
43 programs a year
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
Tiptonville Public Library, 126 Tipton Street, Tiptonville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tiptonville Public Library branch.
New in Tiptonville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tiptonville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $80K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $60K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $80K 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 1,442 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Tiptonville Public Library serves 4,296 people in and around Tiptonville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Tiptonville.
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 Tiptonville
Does Tiptonville have a public library?
Yes. Tiptonville Public Library, 126 Tipton Street, serves 4,296 people in and around Tiptonville (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tiptonville 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 Tiptonville’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tiptonville’s civic life grade?
D Tiptonville is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #137 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 Tiptonville.
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.