Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Whitwell’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Orena Humphreys Public Library serves 5,770 people in and around Whitwell. Last year it lent 7,866 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,887 visits.
The short version on Whitwell’s library
Orena Humphreys Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Orena Humphreys Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of Whitwell’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 55% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 67% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 86% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Orena Humphreys Public Library serves more than Whitwell
The library’s service area covers 5,770 people in and around Whitwell, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Whitwell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Whitwell is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. Whitwell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Whitwell’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Orena Humphreys Public Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Whitwell
1.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.9%
3.9% of Whitwell’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 Whitwell’s residents live; 2022.
55% of borrowing is digital
7,866 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
4,347 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Orena Humphreys Public Library serves 5,770 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
63 programs a year
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.
Find it
Orena Humphreys Public Library, 13535 Tn-28, Whitwell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Whitwell? 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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $102K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $154K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $102K 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 3,733 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 Whitwell
Does Whitwell have a public library?
Yes. Orena Humphreys Public Library, 13535 Tn-28, serves 5,770 people in and around Whitwell (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Orena Humphreys 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 Whitwell’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Whitwell’s civic life grade?
D− Whitwell is ahead of 2% 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 Whitwell.
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.