Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Buckhannon’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Charles W. Gibson Public Library serves 5,186 people in and around Buckhannon. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,786 visits.
Buckhannon’s library, in brief
Charles W. Gibson Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Charles W. Gibson Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
43% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 45%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 62 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 41 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; Charles W. Gibson Public Library serves 5,186 people in and around Buckhannon, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Buckhannon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Buckhannon is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #38 of 48 in West Virginia. Buckhannon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Buckhannon
6.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Buckhannon’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 Buckhannon’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Charles W. Gibson Public Library serves 5,186 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Charles W. Gibson Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Buckhannon’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
2,661 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
62 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
Charles W. Gibson Public Library, 105 East Main Street, Buckhannon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Charles W. Gibson Public Library branch.
New in Buckhannon? 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 $1.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buckhannon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $144K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $181K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $144K 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 1,348 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Charles W. Gibson Public Library serves 5,186 people in and around Buckhannon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Buckhannon.
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 Buckhannon
Does Buckhannon have a public library?
Yes. Charles W. Gibson Public Library, 105 East Main Street, serves 5,186 people in and around Buckhannon (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charles W. Gibson 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 Buckhannon’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Buckhannon’s civic life grade?
B− Buckhannon is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 of 48 in West Virginia. 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 Buckhannon.
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.