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Christ Episcopal ChurchChrist Episcopal Church · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Walnut Cove Public Library · part of Northwestern Regional Library

Walnut Cove’s library is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 61% of systems its size

Walnut Cove’s library is the Walnut Cove Public Library, a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which serves 166,502 people and lent 467K items last year.

106 W Fifth St., Walnut Cove 27052 · about 53 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 2% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (336) 591-7496 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
467K
2.8 per resident
Visits a year
261K
1.6 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
5,257
about 101 a week · 76K attended
Cardholders
39%
64,946 cards
Open
53 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Walnut Cove’s library is like

Four times the programs of a typical library its size

The Northwestern Regional Library system ran 5,257 programs last year, about 101 a week. That’s 32 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 76,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

North Carolina pays a big share

20% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. 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; Walnut Cove’s library is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (166,502 people), not just the Walnut Cove branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Walnut Cove’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Walnut Cove is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns. Walnut Cove is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Walnut Cove’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureDCommunity nonprofits1.3 per 1,000 residents · NC towns 3.4 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.4% of adults 25–44 · NC towns 5.2% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 2%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $34K–$56K (3,324)Ahead of 5%

Northwestern Regional Library spends $17 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$56K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Walnut Cove is small (1,609 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

3 community nonprofits are registered in Walnut Cove

1.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans00.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.14 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

4.4%

4.4% of Walnut Cove’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical North Carolina 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 Walnut Cove’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 43 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Walnut Cove →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,310
Ages 6–11944
Teens225
Adults2,577
All ages201
Little ones
25.2

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

205K
kids’ books & media borrowed
76K
people at programs
5,257
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.6 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 71%
Borrowing per resident 2.6 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 61%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1.4Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 1.2 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 64%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 87%
Programs offered 31.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Top 10%
Cardholders 39% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 53%
Spending $17 per resident · typical $36Lower than 86%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Northwestern Regional Library serves 166,502 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northwestern Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

261K
visits
1.6 per resident
467K
loans, print + digital
2.8 per resident
5,257
programs & events
76K attended
65K
library cards
39% of people served
Every open hour15items borrowed
Every week1,457people at a program
Every day500Wi-Fi sessions
49 staff (full-time equivalent)114 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

467K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

467Kloans
Books & media (adults) 50%Kids’ books & media 44%E-books, audio & streaming 6%
From your couch

28,022 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

Walnut Cove Public Library, 106 W Fifth St., Walnut Cove.

Directions(336) 591-7496
53
hours open a week
8,032
square feet
With a card

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 Northwestern Regional Library branch.

New in Walnut Cove? 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 $2.85 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$17 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.9M.

Local taxes 75%State 20%Federal 0%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 64,946 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. Walnut Cove Public Library is one branch of Northwestern Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 166,502 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 Walnut Cove

Does Walnut Cove have a public library?

Yes: Walnut Cove Public Library, 106 W Fifth St., is a branch of Northwestern Regional Library, which serves 166,502 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Northwestern 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 Walnut Cove’s library?

It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Walnut Cove’s civic life grade?

D− Walnut Cove is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Walnut Cove.

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.