Photo: w.marsh · CC BY 2.0London’s library lends 5.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Laurel County Public Library serves 63,296 people in and around London. Last year it lent 537K books, movies and e-books and logged 133K visits.
London’s library, in brief
Programs draw a crowd
56,000 people came to the system’s 1,062 programs last year: 0.9 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The London branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
80% of the people it serves carry a library card
50,512 cards for 63,296 people, or 80%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Laurel County Public Library serves 63,296 people in and around London, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind London’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, London is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #59 of 126 in Kentucky. London is graded on two of the three inputs. London’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$59K) 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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in London
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.5%
3.5% of London’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 London’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Laurel County Public Library serves 63,296 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 133 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Laurel County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
537K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
161,414 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Laurel County Public Library, 120 College Park Drive, London.
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 Laurel County Public Library branch.
New in London? 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 $3.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average London cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 50,512 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Laurel County Public Library serves 63,296 people in and around London, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just London.
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 London
Does London have a public library?
Yes. Laurel County Public Library, 120 College Park Drive, serves 63,296 people in and around London (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laurel 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 London’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is London’s civic life grade?
C+ London is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 London.
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.