Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Vega’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Oldham County Public Library serves 1,783 people in and around Vega. Last year it lent 70K books, movies and e-books and logged 1,771 visits.
The short version on Vega’s library
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 98% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 2%. What people borrow ↓
Oldham County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Oldham County Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Vega branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Oldham County Public Library offered 21 programs last year, 12 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Oldham County Public Library spends $14 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; Oldham County Public Library serves 1,783 people in and around Vega, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Vega’s civic life grade
Vega 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 →
98% of borrowing is digital
70K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
68,256 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Oldham County Public Library serves 1,783 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 76 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Oldham County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
21 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
Oldham County Public Library, 914 Main, Vega.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Oldham County Public Library branch.
New in Vega? 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 $41.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vega cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 1,266 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Oldham County Public Library serves 1,783 people in and around Vega, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Vega.
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 Vega
Does Vega have a public library?
Yes. Oldham County Public Library, 914 Main, serves 1,783 people in and around Vega (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oldham County 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 Vega’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 39.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Vega’s civic life grade?
Vega 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 Vega.
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.