By: Isabelle Puente
As of 2026, there are approximately 17,586 public libraries across the United States, each of
them can be accessed with a free library card. The question is though, how often do you use your public library?
“I think word of mouth is probably the best way for people to tell other people how much they
enjoy the Library and what they use it for,” said Dinah Harris, Jackson Madison County Library
Director. “I think people just don’t have any idea what all is here, so there’s a chance if you need something informational, if you’ll check with us we probably have a way to help.”
The Jackson Madison County Library first opened in the Carnegie Library at 305 E. College St., in 1903, before moving to its present location at 433 East Lafayette St., in 1968 – continuously offering the community new programs and spaces every day, all for free.
Dinah Harris has been with JMC Library since 2013, but she is no stranger to the public service, having worked as a library director for Henderson County’s Everett Horn Public Library. Even though the career has been and is distinguished, Harris continues to follow her passion and stay with the Library.
But changes seem to occur on a regular basis.
With the rise in electronic books – and Amazon Kindle, an online book service – the library continues to see numerous visitors every day. During 2025-2026, JMC Library saw a total of 482,595 checkouts with only 33 percent of those being online. In comparison to the 2022-2023 year, they saw a 15 percent increase in visitors. Showing that even with the rise of technology and online books, Jackson’s community still appreciates and loves our library.
The library not only offers a plethora of books, but they also offer so many programs and are
consistently adding new ones that are fun for adults and children. One of their newest program additions is an evening ASL (American Sign Language) class. While they’ve had this class for many years during the day, they have never had an evening class for it but with the high demand, they were finally able to add one.
Not only do they offer many programs, they also have many different spaces within including a Genealogy space, the Tennessee Room, the Makerspace, Computer labs, a Teen space, and a Library of Things where you can check out things like tools, household appliances and many more. They also offer their own online services Libby, Hoopla and Tennessee R.E.A.D.S for books, audio books, movie, music and television.
If you’ve never been to the Library or don’t have a library card, there’s nothing to worry about.
You can get your own library card for free if you’re a Madison County resident, all you need is a
photo ID and proof of your current address. If you’re not a Madison County resident, don’t worry because you can still get your own library card as well however, there is a small fee of $25 for out of county residents.
So, if you head to your local library and give them a chance, considering the amount of programs, books and spaces the library has to offer, you’re more than likely to find something you enjoy and will motivate you to visit the library more often. For more information about JMC Library and their services, you can visit their website https://jmclibrary.org/.
(PHOTO: Dinah Harris)
