Photo: Coal town guy · CC BY-SA 4.0Pocahontas’ library is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Pocahontas’s library is the Tazewell County Public Library – Pocahontas Branch, a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which serves 39,763 people and lent 67K items last year.
The short version on Pocahontas’s library
The Tazewell County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Tazewell County Public Library system records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 55% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 66% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 84% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 704 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6 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; Pocahontas’s library is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (39,763 people), not just the Pocahontas branch.
What’s behind Pocahontas’ civic life grade
Pocahontas 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 →
55% of borrowing is digital
67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
36,718 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tazewell County Public Library serves 39,763 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tazewell County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 9 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
Tazewell County Public Library – Pocahontas Branch, 179 Centre Street, Pocahontas.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tazewell County Public Library branch.
New in Pocahontas? 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 $1.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pocahontas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 2,956 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Tazewell County Public Library – Pocahontas Branch is one branch of Tazewell County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 39,763 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 Pocahontas
Does Pocahontas have a public library?
Yes: Tazewell County Public Library – Pocahontas Branch, 179 Centre Street, is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which serves 39,763 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tazewell 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 Pocahontas’ library?
It logged 1.4 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 Pocahontas’ civic life grade?
Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas.
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.