Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Walton’s library is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size
Walton’s library is the Walton Branch, a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which serves 140,496 people and lent 1.4M items last year.
Walton’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
128,857 cards for 140,496 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Boone County Public Library District system ran 3,270 programs last year, about 63 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 76,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. 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; Walton’s library is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (140,496 people), not just the Walton branch.
What’s behind Walton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Walton is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #106 of 126 in Kentucky. Walton 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 ($58K–$97K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Walton
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Walton’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 Walton’s residents live; 2022.
About 40 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Boone County Public Library District serves 140,496 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 78 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boone County Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
526,655 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Walton Branch, 21 S. Main Street, Walton.
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 Boone County Public Library District branch.
New in Walton? 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 $2.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Walton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.1M 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 128,857 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Walton Branch is one branch of Boone County Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 140,496 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 Walton
Does Walton have a public library?
Yes: Walton Branch, 21 S. Main Street, is a branch of Boone County Public Library District, which serves 140,496 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boone County Public 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 Walton’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Walton’s civic life grade?
D Walton is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #106 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 Walton.
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.