Centreville’s library is a branch of Wilkinson County Library System, which lends less per resident than 98% of systems its size
Centreville’s library is the Kevin Poole Van Cleave Memorial Library, a branch of Wilkinson County Library System, which serves 8,053 people and lent 3,555 items last year.
Centreville’s library, in brief
The Wilkinson County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Wilkinson County Library System records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $21 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Wilkinson County Library System offered 9 programs last year, 1.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Mississippi pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Centreville’s library is a branch of Wilkinson County Library System, so they cover the whole system (8,053 people), not just the Centreville branch.
What’s behind Centreville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Centreville has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Centreville is graded on two of the three inputs. Centreville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Wilkinson County Library System spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$52K) 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Centreville
0.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.6%
2.6% of Centreville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Centreville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Wilkinson County Library System serves 8,053 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Wilkinson County Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wilkinson County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,555 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
723 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
9 programs a year
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
Kevin Poole Van Cleave Memorial Library, 141 West Park Street North, Centreville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wilkinson County Library System branch.
New in Centreville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Centreville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $170K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $58K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $170K 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 2,215 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Kevin Poole Van Cleave Memorial Library is one branch of Wilkinson County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,053 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 Centreville
Does Centreville have a public library?
Yes: Kevin Poole Van Cleave Memorial Library, 141 West Park Street North, is a branch of Wilkinson County Library System, which serves 8,053 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilkinson County Library System 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 Centreville’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Centreville’s civic life grade?
D− Centreville has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Centreville.
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.