OVERVIEW 

Knoxville is the largest city in East Tennessee and ranks third largest in the state.  It is located in a broad valley between the Cumberland Mountains to the Northwest and the Great Smokey Mountains to the southeast.  These two mountain ranges help provide a moderate climate, with annual average temperature of 60 degrees.  There are 97.2 square miles in the City of Knoxville and 526 square miles in all of Knox County.  Downtown Knoxville is 936 feet above sea level.

A city surrounded by cutting-edge scientific research centers, where the technologies of tomorrow are developed and nurtured.  A place with a climate that's as friendly and accommodating as its people.  And a city whose extensive shoreline allows fans to travel to football games by boat, and suddenly around a bend in the lake, the Great Smokey Mountains appear as if by magic.

Knoxville is truly coming of age as a world-renowned metropolitan area.  At the same time, Knoxville is made up of communities that pride themselves on a friendly "small town" atmosphere.  This is a city where you will find an abundance of neighbors that say "welcome" and make you realize that Knoxville loves to meet people.

Knoxville Library System

Knoxville's beautiful Lawson-McGhee Library , and its sixteen branches, loan books, magazines, films, record, and audio-visual equipment to card holders. The library card is free to Knox county residents or property owners. This card provides for a three week loan period with renewal privileges for most material. The main library of Knoxville and Knox County is housed in its new $2 million building on Clinch Avenue. The Lawson-McGhee library has a collection of over 10,000 rare and out-of-print books on microfiche. Also available for public use is an excellent up-to-date investment and corporate collection, as well as over 500 current magazines. A new addition to the library is a fine arts section specializing in audio-visual materials. Of special interest is the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection of documents, manuscripts and photos of people and landmarks from the days of the old southwest territory when Knoxville was its capital. This collection of over 4,000 volumes is recognized as one of the finest in the nation. The library also has a children's services department providing reading and story-telling services to children. Lawson-McGhee Library is located at 500 West Clinch Avenue ( 865 ) 215-8750 Knoxville Honors Forbes magazine, Best Places for Business & Career – ranked #5  Places Rated Almanac Millenium Edition,Best Place to Live for cities under 1 million population – ranked #1  Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation Best Cities for Relocating Families  ranked 3rd Southern Business and Development magazine  "Top Mid-Market" with populations between 250,00 and 750,000 Expansion Management magazine, America's 50 Hottest Cities for Business Relocation & Expansion – ranked #9  Sperling's Best Places, Best Places for Affordable Living – ranked #8 Money Magazine, Best Places to Retire – ranked #10  Inc. magazine, Top Mid-Size City Boom Towns (for Job Growth) – ranked #24  Hotwire.com, America's Most Affordable Travel Destinations – ranked #4