Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0Providence’s library is a branch of Webster County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 82% of systems its size
Providence’s library is the Providence Branch Library, a branch of Webster County Public Library, which serves 12,726 people and lent 100K items last year.
Providence’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
13,521 cards for 12,726 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 82% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 70%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Webster County Public Library system ran 905 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 71 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 87% of similar-size libraries. 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; Providence’s library is a branch of Webster County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (12,726 people), not just the Providence branch.
What’s behind Providence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Providence is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #99 of 126 in Kentucky. Providence 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 ($41K–$69K) 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Providence
2.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.1%
6.1% of Providence’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 Providence’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Webster County Public Library serves 12,726 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Webster County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
100K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,536 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Providence Branch Library, 230 N Willow St., Providence.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Webster County Public Library branch.
New in Providence? 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 $2.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Providence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $683K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $683K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 13,521 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Providence Branch Library is one branch of Webster County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,726 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 Providence
Does Providence have a public library?
Yes: Providence Branch Library, 230 N Willow St., is a branch of Webster County Public Library, which serves 12,726 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Webster County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Providence’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Providence’s civic life grade?
C− Providence is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on civic life, #99 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 Providence.
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.