The Knox County Community Services Department provides three primary services: Public Libraries, Senior Centers and Veterans Services. We also coordinate several initiatives, including the following: the Veterans Memorial Project, the Regional Senior Summit and the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.
Public Libraries
The Knox County Public Library system has 120,000 library cardholders and has 200 employees. In 2007, over 1.5 million people visited one of the 20 library locations and borrowed over 2.2 million items. Our libraries provide public access to computers and the internet. In 2007, library computers recorded more than a quarter million citizen sessions.
One of Knox County four priorities deals with education—Every School a Great School. To help achieve this priority, our public library emphasizes programs for children, which include weekly story times, special children's programs, and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.The Imagination Library has sent out a total of 400,000 books to 25,000 children over the last three years to help them prepare to learn to read.
In addition to our county library facilities, we operate two special facilities;the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and the East Tennessee History Center. The Beck Center is one of the oldest museums of African-American achievement in the Southeastern United States. It has more than 1,100 black history-related books and more than 300 videos.
The East Tennessee History Center houses the Knox County Archives and the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, both of the Knox County Public Library System. It also houses the East Tennessee Historical Society.
Senior Services
No Seniors Left Behind is a Knox County priority and the focus of our Senior Citizen and Volunteer Services Department .The Department assists nearly 70,000 Knox County citizens who are 60 years or older. The primary functions of this department are to facilitate the services provided by our County senior centers and to organize the annual Regional Senior Summit.
There are five senior centers located throughout Knox County that provide fitness and social programs. The John T. O’Conner Senior Center in downtown Knoxville is funded jointly with the City of Knoxville. The other four centers are funded wholly by Knox County:
- Frank Strang Senior Center(west)(marks 10th anniversary in 2008)
- Halls Senior Center(north)
- South Knox Senior Center
- Corryton Community/Senior Center (east)
We also have a new senior center slated for completion in 2009. The Carter Library/Senior Center is a concept aimed at providing a multi-use facility that serves two or more government department.
Our Regional Senior Summit has become an annual event and is the outgrowth of local senior summits that were initiated in 2003. The first regional event was held in 2007 and drew more than 2,500 seniors from a 17-county East Tennessee region. The regional summits provide information to seniors, their families, and their caregivers about fraud and abuse that our seniors encounter.
The No Senior Left Behind Report provides a community roadmap for creating and addressing the needs of our senior citizens. The report is the result of the Knox County Senior Summit Initiative 2004–2006.
Veteran’s Services
Our Veteran’s Services Department assists more than 38,000 Knox County citizens who have served in the United States Armed Forces, many of whom are in our senior community. The Department helps veterans and their families through the process of receiving claims and benefits that they are eligible for through the federal government and /or private agencies. Annually, we respond to nearly 4,000 inquiries from veterans and their families.
A coup for Knox County was the location of the Ben Atchley State Veteran’s Home here in 2006. The Veteran’s Home has the capacity to provide services to over 140 veterans.
