Stewart's Tavern · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Ashby’s library is a branch of Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 70% of systems its size
Fort Ashby’s library is the Fort Ashby, a branch of Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, which serves 25,819 people and lent 62K items last year.
The short version on Fort Ashby’s library
West Virginia pays a big share
55% of the budget comes from the state, and 26% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Keyser-Mineral County Public Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, below 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Keyser-Mineral County Public Library system spends $11 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% 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; Fort Ashby’s library is a branch of Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (25,819 people), not just the Fort Ashby branch.
What’s behind Fort Ashby’s civic life grade
Fort Ashby 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 Keyser-Mineral 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 Fort Ashby
Fort Ashby is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.7%
9.7% of Fort Ashby’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 Fort Ashby’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Keyser-Mineral County Public Library serves 25,819 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Keyser-Mineral County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Fort Ashby’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
4,906 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Fort Ashby, 57 Presidents Street, Fort Ashby.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Keyser-Mineral County Public Library branch.
New in Fort Ashby? 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 $3.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fort Ashby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $289K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $289K 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 10,822 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Fort Ashby is one branch of Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,819 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 Fort Ashby
Does Fort Ashby have a public library?
Yes: Fort Ashby, 57 Presidents Street, is a branch of Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, which serves 25,819 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Keyser-Mineral 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 Fort Ashby’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Fort Ashby’s civic life grade?
Fort Ashby 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 Keyser-Mineral County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fort Ashby.
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.