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Downtown West Liberty, KentuckyPhoto: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0
Morgan County Public Library

West Liberty’s library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Morgan County Public Library serves 14,283 people in and around West Liberty. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.

151 University Drive, West Liberty 41472 · about 53 hours a week
BCivic lifeAhead of 57% of U.S. towns · #37 of 126 in Kentucky. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (606) 743-4151 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
20K
1.4 per resident
Visits a year
19K
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
209
about 4 a week · 4,912 attended
Cardholders
57%
8,209 cards
Open
53 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What West Liberty’s library is like

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

Morgan County Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓

43% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Morgan County Public Library serves 14,283 people in and around West Liberty, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind West Liberty’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Liberty is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #37 of 126 in Kentucky. West Liberty is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; West Liberty’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of West Liberty’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureCCommunity nonprofits2.9 per 1,000 residents · KY towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7A−Volunteering9.9% of adults 25–44 · KY towns 6.6% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 57%
FewerMore
Kentucky towns we grade (126)Ahead of 71%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $36K–$60K (4,352)Ahead of 56%

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. West Liberty is small (3,339 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

10 community nonprofits are registered in West Liberty

2.9 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 & culture10.18 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans31.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.46 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

9.9%

9.9% of West Liberty’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 West Liberty’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

43% of borrowing is digital

20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

20Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 13%E-books, audio & streaming 43%
From your couch

8,445 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 82%
Borrowing per resident 0.8 print items · typical 3.9Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 71%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.8Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 61%
Programs offered 14.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 72%
Cardholders 57% of residents · typical 40%Higher than 77%
Spending $30 per resident · typical $43Lower than 70%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Morgan County Public Library serves 14,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

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

19K
visits
1.4 per resident
20K
loans, print + digital
1.4 per resident
209
programs & events
4,912 attended
8,209
library cards
57% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week94people at a program
Every day27Wi-Fi sessions
6 staff (full-time equivalent)27 public computers
Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in West Liberty →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–536
Ages 6–1144
Teens20
Adults70
All ages39
Little ones
0.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

2,584
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,912
people at programs
209
programs
The building

Find it

Morgan County Public Library, 151 University Drive, West Liberty.

Directions(606) 743-4151
53
hours open a week
16,380
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Morgan County Public Library branch.

New in West Liberty? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Liberty 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
$30 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $425K.

Local taxes 99%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $384K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $425K 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 8,209 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. Morgan County Public Library serves 14,283 people in and around West Liberty, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Liberty.

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 West Liberty

Does West Liberty have a public library?

Yes. Morgan County Public Library, 151 University Drive, serves 14,283 people in and around West Liberty (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Morgan 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 West Liberty’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is West Liberty’s civic life grade?

B West Liberty is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on civic life, #37 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 West Liberty.

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.