Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Whitmire’s library is a branch of Newberry County Library System, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Whitmire’s library is the Whitmire War Memorial Library, a branch of Newberry County Library System, which serves 37,719 people and lent 64K items last year.
Whitmire’s library, in brief
The Newberry County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Newberry County Library System records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Newberry County Library System offered 63 programs last year, 1.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
South Carolina pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 76% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Whitmire’s library is a branch of Newberry County Library System, so they cover the whole system (37,719 people), not just the Whitmire branch.
What’s behind Whitmire’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Whitmire is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Whitmire is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Whitmire’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Newberry County Library System spends $18 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($28K–$47K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Whitmire
3.0 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.4%
4.4% of Whitmire’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South 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 Whitmire’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Newberry County Library System serves 37,719 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Newberry County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
19,963 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
63 programs a year
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
Whitmire War Memorial Library, 303 Church Street, Whitmire.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Newberry County Library System branch.
New in Whitmire? 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 $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitmire cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $669K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $669K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 24,165 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Whitmire War Memorial Library is one branch of Newberry County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 37,719 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 Whitmire
Does Whitmire have a public library?
Yes: Whitmire War Memorial Library, 303 Church Street, is a branch of Newberry County Library System, which serves 37,719 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newberry County Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Whitmire’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Whitmire’s civic life grade?
D Whitmire is ahead of 12% 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 Whitmire.
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.