Holley Hills Estate · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAlum Creek’s library is a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 63% of systems its size
Alum Creek’s library is the Alum Creek, a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, which serves 20,463 people and lent 107K items last year.
Alum Creek’s library, in brief
West Virginia pays a big share
32% of the budget comes from the state, and 45% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Alum Creek’s library is a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (20,463 people), not just the Alum Creek branch.
What’s behind Alum Creek’s civic life grade
Alum Creek isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Alum Creek
Alum Creek is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
11.3%
11.3% of Alum Creek’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical West 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 Alum Creek’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library serves 20,463 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
107K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Alum Creek’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
4,963 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Alum Creek, 214 Midway Rd, Alum Creek.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library branch.
New in Alum Creek? 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 $5.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alum Creek cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $345K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $345K 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 13,080 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Alum Creek is one branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,463 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 Alum Creek
Does Alum Creek have a public library?
Yes: Alum Creek, 214 Midway Rd, is a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, which serves 20,463 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamlin-Lincoln 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 Alum Creek’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alum Creek’s civic life grade?
Alum Creek isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Alum Creek.
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.