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2017-06-12 12 57 39 View south along U.S. Route 23 Business (Main Street) between Pine Street and Virginia Avenue in Appalachia, Wise County, VirginiaPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Libraries near Appalachia

Appalachia has no public library of its own; the nearest is C. Bascom Slemp Memorial Library in Big Stone Gap, 3.5 miles away

Appalachia doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is C. Bascom Slemp Memorial Library in Big Stone Gap, 3.5 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

BCivic lifeAhead of 64% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (276) 523-1334All nearby libraries
Civic life grade

What’s behind Appalachia’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Appalachia is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Appalachia is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Appalachia’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Appalachia’s overall grade.
–Library visitsNo public library of its own, so there is no town figureB−Community nonprofits3.6 per 1,000 residents · VA towns 4.4 · U.S. 3.7B+Volunteering9.3% of adults 25–44 · VA towns 6.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 64%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $32K–$54K (2,831)Ahead of 67%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Appalachia is small (1,369 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

5 community nonprofits are registered in Appalachia

3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

9.3%

9.3% of Appalachia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia 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 Appalachia’s residents live; 2022.

Nearest libraries

The closest is 3.5 miles away

Closest first, measured from the center of Appalachia. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.

3.5miC. Bascom Slemp Memorial LibraryBig Stone Gap · 47 hrs a weekDirections →11.7miRebecca Caudill Public LibraryCumberland · 52 hrs a weekDirections →12.4miWise County Public LibraryWise · 50 hrs a weekDirections →14.3miLetcher County Public Library DistrictWhitesburg · 52 hrs a week · fine-freeDirections →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.

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 Appalachia

Does Appalachia have a public library?

No. The closest is C. Bascom Slemp Memorial Library in Big Stone Gap, 3.5 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

What is Appalachia’s civic life grade?

B Appalachia is ahead of 64% 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 Appalachia.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.