Photo: Fredlyfish4 · CC BY-SA 4.0Water Valley’s library runs 4.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Blackmur Memorial Library serves Water Valley’s 3,380 residents. Last year it lent 3,454 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,229 visits.
What Water Valley’s library is like
More library cards than residents
5,301 cards for 3,380 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Blackmur Memorial Library offered 16 programs last year, 4.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Blackmur Memorial Library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 91% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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.
What’s behind Water Valley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Water Valley is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #51 of 85 in Mississippi. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Water Valley’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Water Valley
3.0 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.9%
3.9% of Water Valley’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 Water Valley’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Blackmur Memorial Library serves 3,380 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,454 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
483 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
16 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Water Valley last year.
Find it
Blackmur Memorial Library, 608 Blackmur Drive, Water Valley.
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 Water Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $95K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $58K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $95K 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 5,301 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Water Valley
Does Water Valley have a public library?
Yes. Blackmur Memorial Library, 608 Blackmur Drive, serves Water Valley’s 3,380 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Blackmur Memorial 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 Water Valley’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Water Valley’s civic life grade?
D Water Valley is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #51 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Water Valley.
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.