Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Gassaway’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Gassaway Public Library serves 4,577 people in and around Gassaway. Last year it lent 5,441 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,361 visits.
Gassaway’s library, in brief
Gassaway Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Gassaway Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
42% of the budget comes from the state, and 37% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 136 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 4 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Gassaway Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% 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; Gassaway Public Library serves 4,577 people in and around Gassaway, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Gassaway’s civic life grade
Gassaway 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gassaway Public Library serves 4,577 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gassaway Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,441 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Gassaway’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,550 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Gassaway Public Library, 536 Elk Street, Gassaway.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Gassaway Public Library branch.
New in Gassaway? 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 $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gassaway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $61K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61K 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 1,411 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Gassaway Public Library serves 4,577 people in and around Gassaway, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gassaway.
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 Gassaway
Does Gassaway have a public library?
Yes. Gassaway Public Library, 536 Elk Street, serves 4,577 people in and around Gassaway (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gassaway 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 Gassaway’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gassaway’s civic life grade?
Gassaway 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 Gassaway.
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.