Westover’s library is a branch of Harrison Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 99% of systems its size
Westover’s library is the Westover Public Library, a branch of Harrison Regional Library System, which serves 45,151 people and lent 3,289 items last year.
The short version on Westover’s library
The Harrison Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Harrison Regional Library System records 0 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
The Westover branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Harrison Regional Library System offered 90 programs last year, 2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Alabama pays a big share
50% of the budget comes from the state, and 35% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
81% of the 90 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 16 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Westover’s library is a branch of Harrison Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (45,151 people), not just the Westover branch.
What’s behind Westover’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Westover is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. Westover is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Harrison Regional Library System spends $8 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($73K–$121K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Westover
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
5.8%
5.8% of Westover’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.8% in the typical Alabama 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 Westover’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Harrison Regional Library System serves 45,151 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Harrison Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,289 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
90 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Westover Public Library, 3312 Westover Road, Westover.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Harrison Regional Library System branch.
New in Westover? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westover cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $376K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $72K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $376K 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 936 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westover | Westover Public Library | — | 10 | D |
| Chelsea | Chelsea Public Library | — | 55 | D |
| Harpersville | Harpersville Public Library | — | 30 | C |
| Sterrett | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Westover Public Library is one branch of Harrison Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 45,151 people it serves.
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 Westover
Does Westover have a public library?
Yes: Westover Public Library, 3312 Westover Road, is a branch of Harrison Regional Library System, which serves 45,151 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harrison Regional Library System 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 Westover’s library?
It logged 0.0 visits and lent 0.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Westover’s civic life grade?
D Westover is ahead of 9% 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 Westover.
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.