Photo: GreenMGo · Public domainWilliamsburg’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Whitley County Public Library serves 36,825 people in and around Williamsburg. Last year it lent 115K books, movies and e-books and logged 39K visits.
The short version on Williamsburg’s library
Whitley County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Whitley County Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans, more per resident than at 66% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 44%. 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; Whitley County Public Library serves 36,825 people in and around Williamsburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Williamsburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Williamsburg is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #119 of 126 in Kentucky. Williamsburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Williamsburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Whitley County Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$48K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Williamsburg
2.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.6%
2.6% of Williamsburg’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 Williamsburg’s residents live; 2022.
56% of borrowing is digital
115K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
64,690 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Whitley County Public Library serves 36,825 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Whitley County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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.
Find it
Whitley County Public Library, 285 South Third Street, Williamsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Whitley County Public Library branch.
New in Williamsburg? 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 $2.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williamsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $795K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $795K 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 11,903 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Whitley County Public Library serves 36,825 people in and around Williamsburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Williamsburg.
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 Williamsburg
Does Williamsburg have a public library?
Yes. Whitley County Public Library, 285 South Third Street, serves 36,825 people in and around Williamsburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whitley 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 Williamsburg’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Williamsburg’s civic life grade?
D Williamsburg is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #119 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 Williamsburg.
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.