Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Elkins’ library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Elkins-Randolph Public Library serves 13,407 people in and around Elkins. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
Elkins’s library, in brief
Elkins-Randolph Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Elkins-Randolph Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 76% of loans. Print still makes up 24%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 115 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Elkins-Randolph Public Library offered 115 programs last year, 8.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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; Elkins-Randolph Public Library serves 13,407 people in and around Elkins, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elkins’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elkins is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 48 in West Virginia. Elkins is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Elkins near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in Elkins
8.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
22.9%
22.9% of Elkins’ 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 Elkins’ residents live; 2022.
76% of borrowing is digital
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Elkins’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
16,303 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Elkins-Randolph Public Library serves 13,407 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elkins-Randolph Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 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
Elkins-Randolph Public Library, 416 Davis Ave, Elkins.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elkins-Randolph Public Library branch.
New in Elkins? 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 $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkins cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $351K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 10,159 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkins | Elkins-Randolph Public Library | — | 44 | A+ |
| Beverly | Beverly Heritage Library Branch | — | 18 | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elkins-Randolph Public Library serves 13,407 people in and around Elkins, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elkins.
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 Elkins
Does Elkins have a public library?
Yes. Elkins-Randolph Public Library, 416 Davis Ave, serves 13,407 people in and around Elkins (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkins-Randolph 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 Elkins’ library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Elkins’ civic life grade?
A+ Elkins is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Elkins.
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.