Photo: C Wilson · CC BY-SA 3.0West Point’s library is a branch of Tombigbee Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 90% of systems its size
West Point’s library is the Bryan Public Library, a branch of Tombigbee Regional Library, which serves 61,803 people and lent 58K items last year.
The short version on West Point’s library
The Tombigbee Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Tombigbee Regional Library system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Tombigbee Regional Library system offered 200 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Mississippi pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Tombigbee Regional Library system spends $7 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; West Point’s library is a branch of Tombigbee Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (61,803 people), not just the West Point branch.
What’s behind West Point’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Point is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #30 of 85 in Mississippi. West Point is graded on two of the three inputs. West Point’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in West Point
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (30 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.2%
2.2% of West Point’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 West Point’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tombigbee Regional Library serves 61,803 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tombigbee Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
58K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Bryan Public Library, 436 Commerce Street, West Point.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tombigbee Regional Library branch.
New in West Point? 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 $3.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Point cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $462K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $462K 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 25,776 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Bryan Public Library is one branch of Tombigbee Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 61,803 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 West Point
Does West Point have a public library?
Yes: Bryan Public Library, 436 Commerce Street, is a branch of Tombigbee Regional Library, which serves 61,803 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tombigbee Regional 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 West Point’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is West Point’s civic life grade?
C West Point is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #30 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 West Point.
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.