Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWest Jefferson’s library is a branch of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson, which lends more per resident than 78% of systems its size
West Jefferson’s library is the Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library, a branch of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson, which serves 7,105 people and lent 56K items last year.
The short version on West Jefferson’s library
Ohio pays a big share
49% of the budget comes from the state, and 35% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson system spends $88 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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 Jefferson’s library is a branch of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson, so they cover the whole system (7,105 people), not just the West Jefferson branch.
What’s behind West Jefferson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Jefferson is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #703 of 914 in Ohio. West Jefferson is graded on two of the three inputs. West Jefferson’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 ($48K–$80K) 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in West Jefferson
3.9 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.
5.9%
5.9% of West Jefferson’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio 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 Jefferson’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson serves 7,105 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
56K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,122 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library, 270 Lilly Chapel Rd., West Jefferson.
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 Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson branch.
New in West Jefferson? 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 $1.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Jefferson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $628K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $855K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $628K 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 1,901 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Jefferson | Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library fine-free | — | 47 | C |
| Jefferson Township | Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library fine-free | — | 47 | C |
| Prairie Township | Westland Area Branch fine-free | — | 60 | D |
| Lake Darby | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Brown Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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. Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library is one branch of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,105 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 Jefferson
Does West Jefferson have a public library?
Yes: Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library, 270 Lilly Chapel Rd., is a branch of Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson, which serves 7,105 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library/West Jefferson 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 Jefferson’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 7.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Jefferson’s civic life grade?
C West Jefferson is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #703 of 914 in Ohio. 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 Jefferson.
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.