Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Watertown’s library is a branch of Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 67% of systems its size
Watertown’s library is the Watertown-Wilson County Library, a branch of Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, which serves 87,849 people and lent 305K items last year.
The short version on Watertown’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library system offered 183 programs last year, 2.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library system spends $12 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
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; Watertown’s library is a branch of Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (87,849 people), not just the Watertown branch.
What’s behind Watertown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Watertown is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Watertown is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Watertown’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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Watertown
3.4 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.
9.8%
9.8% of Watertown’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 Watertown’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.
Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library serves 87,849 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
305K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
87,110 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
Watertown-Wilson County Library, 206 Public Square, Watertown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library branch.
New in Watertown? 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 $4.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Watertown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 33,100 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Watertown-Wilson County Library is one branch of Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 87,849 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 Watertown
Does Watertown have a public library?
Yes: Watertown-Wilson County Library, 206 Public Square, is a branch of Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, which serves 87,849 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lebanon-Wilson County Public 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 Watertown’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Watertown’s civic life grade?
B Watertown is ahead of 65% 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 Watertown.
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.