Catlettsburg, Kentucky, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Depot · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCatlettsburg’s library is a branch of Boyd County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Catlettsburg’s library is the Catlettsburg, a branch of Boyd County Public Library, which serves 47,826 people and lent 294K items last year.
What Catlettsburg’s library is like
More library cards than residents
47,984 cards for 47,826 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
The Catlettsburg branch keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 473 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 82% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%. What people borrow ↓
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; Catlettsburg’s library is a branch of Boyd County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (47,826 people), not just the Catlettsburg branch.
What’s behind Catlettsburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Catlettsburg is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns. Catlettsburg 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.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$48K) 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 Catlettsburg
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.0%
6.0% of Catlettsburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.6% in the typical Kentucky 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 Catlettsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Boyd County Public Library serves 47,826 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 39 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boyd County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
294K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
121,152 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
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
Catlettsburg, 2704 Louisa St., Catlettsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boyd County Public Library branch.
New in Catlettsburg? 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 $1.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Catlettsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 47,984 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catlettsburg | Catlettsburg fine-free | — | 16 | D |
| Ashland | Boyd County Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | B− |
| South Point | South Point Branch fine-free | — | 46 | D |
| Kenova | Wayne County Public Library | — | 39 | A− |
| Perry Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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.
- System-wide. Catlettsburg is one branch of Boyd County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 47,826 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 Catlettsburg
Does Catlettsburg have a public library?
Yes: Catlettsburg, 2704 Louisa St., is a branch of Boyd County Public Library, which serves 47,826 people. The branch is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boyd County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Catlettsburg’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Catlettsburg’s civic life grade?
D Catlettsburg is ahead of 14% 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 Catlettsburg.
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.