Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Central City’s library is a branch of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 76% of systems its size
Central City’s library is the Central City, a branch of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, which serves 30,568 people and lent 84K items last year.
What stands out about Central City
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Central City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Central City is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #54 of 126 in Kentucky. Central City is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Central City’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Central City
1.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.3%
11.3% of Central City’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 Central City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Muhlenberg County Public Libraries serves 30,568 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Muhlenberg County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
84K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
29,786 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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
Central City, 108 East Broad Street, Central City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Muhlenberg County Public Libraries branch.
New in Central City? 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 Central City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 14,900 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Central City is one branch of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 30,568 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 Central City
Does Central City have a public library?
Yes: Central City, 108 East Broad Street, is a branch of Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, which serves 30,568 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Muhlenberg County Public Libraries 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 Central City’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Central City’s civic life grade?
C+ Central City is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #54 of 126 in Kentucky. 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 Central City.
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.