Kenansville Historic District · Photo: Christaparker089 · CC BY-SA 3.0Kenansville’s library is a branch of Duplin County Library, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Kenansville’s library is the Duplin County - Dorothy Wightman Library, a branch of Duplin County Library, which serves 49,178 people and lent 62K items last year.
The short version on Kenansville’s library
The Duplin County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Duplin County Library system records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Duplin County Library system offered 217 programs last year, 4.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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; Kenansville’s library is a branch of Duplin County Library, so they cover the whole system (49,178 people), not just the Kenansville branch.
What’s behind Kenansville’s civic life grade
Kenansville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Duplin County Library serves 49,178 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Duplin County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,237 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Duplin County - Dorothy Wightman Library, 107 Bowden Dr, Kenansville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Duplin County Library branch.
New in Kenansville? 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 $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kenansville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $710K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $986K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $710K 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 12,097 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Duplin County - Dorothy Wightman Library is one branch of Duplin County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 49,178 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 Kenansville
Does Kenansville have a public library?
Yes: Duplin County - Dorothy Wightman Library, 107 Bowden Dr, is a branch of Duplin County Library, which serves 49,178 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Duplin County 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 Kenansville’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kenansville’s civic life grade?
Kenansville 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 Kenansville.
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.