Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHonaker’s library is a branch of Russell County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 89% of systems its size
Honaker’s library is the Honaker Community Library, a branch of Russell County Public Library, which serves 25,639 people and lent 32K items last year.
Honaker’s library, in brief
The Russell County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Russell County Public Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1 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 ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
The Honaker branch keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Virginia pays a big share
28% of the budget comes from the state, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 344 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Honaker’s library is a branch of Russell County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (25,639 people), not just the Honaker branch.
What’s behind Honaker’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Honaker is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. Honaker is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Honaker’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Russell County Public Library spends $18 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($33K–$55K) 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 Honaker
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.2%
5.2% of Honaker’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 Honaker’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Russell County Public Library serves 25,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Russell County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,454 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
Find it
Honaker Community Library, 10 Library Dr, Honaker.
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 Russell County Public Library branch.
New in Honaker? 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Honaker cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $452K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $588K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $452K 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 992 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Honaker Community Library is one branch of Russell County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,639 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 Honaker
Does Honaker have a public library?
Yes: Honaker Community Library, 10 Library Dr, is a branch of Russell County Public Library, which serves 25,639 people. The branch is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Russell 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 Honaker’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Honaker’s civic life grade?
C− Honaker is ahead of 16% 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 Honaker.
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.