Zack Stansbury House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMount Washington’s library is a branch of Bullitt County Library District, which lends less per resident than 55% of systems its size
Mount Washington’s library is the Mount Washington Branch Library, a branch of Bullitt County Library District, which serves 84,863 people and lent 477K items last year.
Mount Washington’s library, in brief
Open about 64 hours a week
The Mount Washington branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 78% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Mount Washington’s library is a branch of Bullitt County Library District, so they cover the whole system (84,863 people), not just the Mount Washington branch.
What’s behind Mount Washington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Washington is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #73 of 126 in Kentucky. Mount Washington 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 ($72K–$120K) 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 Mount Washington
2.9 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.1%
7.1% of Mount Washington’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 Mount Washington’s residents live; 2022.
About 18 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bullitt County Library District serves 84,863 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bullitt County Library District system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
477K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
193,525 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mount Washington Branch Library, 214 N. Bardstown Rd, Mt. Washington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bullitt County Library District branch.
New in Mount Washington? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.7M 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 36,999 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mount Washington Branch Library is one branch of Bullitt County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 84,863 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 Mount Washington
Does Mount Washington have a public library?
Yes: Mount Washington Branch Library, 214 N. Bardstown Rd, is a branch of Bullitt County Library District, which serves 84,863 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bullitt County Library District 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 Mount Washington’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 5.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mount Washington’s civic life grade?
C Mount Washington is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #73 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 Mount Washington.
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.