Independence’s library runs 132 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Whitesville Public Library serves 1,093 people in and around Independence. Last year it lent 5,539 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,494 visits.
What stands out about Whitesville Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Independence’s civic life grade
Independence isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Whitesville Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Independence
6.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Whitesville Public Library serves 1,093 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Whitesville Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
5,539 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,707 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Whitesville Public Library, 500 Main Street, Whitesville.
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 Whitesville Public Library branch.
New in Independence? 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 $1.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Independence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $77K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $104K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $77K 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 336 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellsville | David A Howe Public Library fine-free | 12.9 | 49 | B+ |
| Andover | Andover Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 20 | B |
| Independence | Whitesville Public Library fine-free | — | 30 | — too few inputs |
| Willing | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| West Union | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Greenwood | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Whitesville Public Library serves 1,093 people in and around Independence, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Independence.
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 Independence
Does Independence have a public library?
Yes. Whitesville Public Library, 500 Main Street, serves 1,093 people in and around Independence (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whitesville Public 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 Independence’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Independence’s civic life grade?
Independence isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Whitesville Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Independence.
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.