Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Waverly’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Humphreys County Public Library serves 19,209 people in and around Waverly. Last year it lent 36K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,985 visits.
The short version on Waverly’s library
Humphreys County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Humphreys County Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Humphreys County Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 0.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Humphreys County Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Humphreys County Public Library serves 19,209 people in and around Waverly, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Waverly’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Waverly is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #100 of 150 in Tennessee. Waverly is graded on two of the three inputs. Waverly’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Humphreys County Public Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($33K–$55K) 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Waverly
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.7%
4.7% of Waverly’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 Waverly’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Humphreys County Public Library serves 19,209 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Humphreys County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,981 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Humphreys County Public Library, 201 Pavo Avenue, Waverly.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Humphreys County Public Library branch.
New in Waverly? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waverly cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $247K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $594K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $247K 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 2,854 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Humphreys County Public Library serves 19,209 people in and around Waverly, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Waverly.
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 Waverly
Does Waverly have a public library?
Yes. Humphreys County Public Library, 201 Pavo Avenue, serves 19,209 people in and around Waverly (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Humphreys 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 Waverly’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Waverly’s civic life grade?
C− Waverly is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Waverly.
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.