Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Byrdstown’s library is a branch of Pickett County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Byrdstown’s library is the Pickett County Library, a branch of Pickett County Public Library, which serves 5,128 people and lent 14K items last year.
What Byrdstown’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 10 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
78% of the 120 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 26 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Pickett County Public Library system spends $16 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Byrdstown’s library is a branch of Pickett County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (5,128 people), not just the Byrdstown branch.
What’s behind Byrdstown’s civic life grade
Byrdstown 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pickett County Public Library serves 5,128 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pickett County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,472 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
120 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Pickett County Library, 79 Pickett Square Annex, Byrdstown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pickett County Public Library branch.
New in Byrdstown? 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 $3.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Byrdstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $80K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $249K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $80K 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 3,873 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Pickett County Library is one branch of Pickett County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 5,128 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 Byrdstown
Does Byrdstown have a public library?
Yes: Pickett County Library, 79 Pickett Square Annex, is a branch of Pickett County Public Library, which serves 5,128 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pickett County Public Library 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 Byrdstown’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Byrdstown’s civic life grade?
Byrdstown 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 Byrdstown.
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.