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Kitzmiller Branch · part of Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County

Kitzmiller’s library is a branch of Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size

Kitzmiller’s library is the Kitzmiller Branch, a branch of Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, which serves 28,702 people and lent 258K items last year.

288 W. Main Street, Kitzmiller 21538 · about 23 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
258K
9 per resident
Visits a year
119K
4.1 per resident · Above typical (2.6)
Programs & events
839
about 16 a week · 19K attended
Cardholders
46%
13,262 cards
Open
23 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Kitzmiller Branch

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Kitzmiller’s civic life grade

Kitzmiller isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Kitzmiller’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 6 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Kitzmiller →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5184
Ages 6–11132
Teens15
Adults421
All ages87
Little ones
3.5

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

93K
kids’ books & media borrowed
19K
people at programs
839
programs
How it compares

Ahead of 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 4.1 visits · typical 2.6Higher than 78%
Borrowing per resident 7.5 print items · typical 3.7Higher than 80%
Digital borrowing 1.5 e-items · typical 1.2Higher than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 3.2 kids’ items · typical 1.7Higher than 77%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.3Higher than 85%
Programs offered 29.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Higher than 86%
Cardholders 46% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 62%
Spending $54 per resident · typical $40Higher than 68%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County serves 28,702 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 30 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County system. The library’s own count.

119K
visits
4.1 per resident
258K
loans, print + digital
9 per resident
839
programs & events
19K attended
13K
library cards
46% of people served
Every open hour30items borrowed
Every week372people at a program
Every day228Wi-Fi sessions
28 staff (full-time equivalent)32 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

258K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

258Kloans
Books & media (adults) 47%Kids’ books & media 36%E-books, audio & streaming 17%
From your couch

43,137 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Kitzmiller Branch, 288 W. Main Street, Kitzmiller.

23
hours open a week
725
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County branch.

New in Kitzmiller? 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 $2.74 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$54 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.

Local taxes 74%State 17%Federal 1%Gifts & other 8%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 13,262 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. Kitzmiller Branch is one branch of Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 28,702 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 Kitzmiller

Does Kitzmiller have a public library?

Yes: Kitzmiller Branch, 288 W. Main Street, is a branch of Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, which serves 28,702 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County 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 Kitzmiller’s library?

It logged 4.1 visits and lent 9.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Kitzmiller’s civic life grade?

Kitzmiller isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Kitzmiller.

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.