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Olive Hill C & O DepotOlive Hill C & O Depot · Photo: CoryClaxon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Carter County Public Library

Olive Hill’s library logs 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size

Carter County Public Library serves 26,366 people in and around Olive Hill. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,546 visits.

120 Comet Drive, Olive Hill 41164 · about 28 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 4% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (606) 286-8070 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
16K
0.6 per resident
Visits a year
6,546
0.2 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
122
about 2 a week · 1,813 attended
Cardholders
36%
9,453 cards
Open
28 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Olive Hill’s library is like

Carter County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Carter County Public Library records 0.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $4 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Carter County Public Library offered 122 programs last year, 4.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

35% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 51%. What your card is worth ↓

Runs on less money than most

Carter County Public Library spends $4 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓

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; Carter County Public Library serves 26,366 people in and around Olive Hill, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Olive Hill’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Olive Hill is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns. Olive Hill 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.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Olive Hill’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureDCommunity nonprofits1.5 per 1,000 residents · KY towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.7% of adults 25–44 · KY towns 6.6% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 4%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $53K–$88K (9,066)Ahead of 3%

Carter County Public Library spends $4 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Olive Hill is small (1,536 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

2 community nonprofits are registered in Olive Hill

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

Arts & culture00.18 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.49 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.18 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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.

Volunteering

4.7%

4.7% of Olive Hill’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 Olive Hill’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.2 visits · typical 2.6Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.7Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1.2Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0 kids’ items · typical 1.7Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.3Bottom 10%
Programs offered 4.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Bottom 10%
Cardholders 36% of residents · typical 39%Lower than 59%
Spending $4 per resident · typical $40Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Carter County Public Library serves 26,366 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carter County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

6,546
visits
0.2 per resident
16K
loans, print + digital
0.6 per resident
122
programs & events
1,813 attended
9,453
library cards
36% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week35people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
6 staff (full-time equivalent)10 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

16Kloans
Books & media (adults) 79%Kids’ books & media 3%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
From your couch

2,862 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

122 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Olive Hill →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–110
Teens0
Adults0
All ages122
561
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,813
people at programs
122
programs
The building

Find it

Carter County Public Library, 120 Comet Drive, Olive Hill.

Directions(606) 286-8070
28
hours open a week
1,200
square feet
With a card

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 Carter County Public Library branch.

New in Olive Hill? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.47 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Olive Hill cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$4 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $118K.

Local taxes 51%State 14%Gifts & other 35%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $291K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $118K 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 9,453 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Carter County Public Library serves 26,366 people in and around Olive Hill, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Olive Hill.

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 Olive Hill

Does Olive Hill have a public library?

Yes. Carter County Public Library, 120 Comet Drive, serves 26,366 people in and around Olive Hill (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Carter 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 Olive Hill’s library?

It logged 0.2 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Olive Hill’s civic life grade?

D− Olive Hill is ahead of 4% 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 Olive Hill.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.