Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Cowen’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cowen Public Library serves 4,356 people in and around Cowen. Last year it lent 3,255 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,692 visits.
The short version on Cowen’s library
Cowen Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Cowen Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 37% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Cowen Public Library offered 16 programs last year, 3.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Cowen Public Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Cowen Public Library serves 4,356 people in and around Cowen, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cowen’s civic life grade
Cowen 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cowen Public Library serves 4,356 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cowen Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,255 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Cowen’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,099 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
16 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Cowen Public Library, 47 Mill Street, Cowen.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cowen Public Library branch.
New in Cowen? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cowen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $52K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $56K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $52K 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 2,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cowen Public Library serves 4,356 people in and around Cowen, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cowen.
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 Cowen
Does Cowen have a public library?
Yes. Cowen Public Library, 47 Mill Street, serves 4,356 people in and around Cowen (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cowen 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 Cowen’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cowen’s civic life grade?
Cowen 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 Cowen.
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.