Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainGrafton’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Taylor County Public Library serves 16,705 people in and around Grafton. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
Grafton’s library, in brief
Taylor County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Taylor County Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Taylor County Public Library offered 113 programs last year, 6.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Taylor County Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 91% 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; Taylor County Public Library serves 16,705 people in and around Grafton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Grafton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grafton is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #15 of 48 in West Virginia. Grafton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Grafton
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
10.1%
10.1% of Grafton’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 Grafton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Taylor County Public Library serves 16,705 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Taylor County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Grafton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
6,816 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Taylor County Public Library, 200 Beech St., Grafton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Taylor County Public Library branch.
New in Grafton? 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 $1.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grafton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $383K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $223K 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 4,817 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Taylor County Public Library serves 16,705 people in and around Grafton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Grafton.
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 Grafton
Does Grafton have a public library?
Yes. Taylor County Public Library, 200 Beech St., serves 16,705 people in and around Grafton (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Taylor County 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 Grafton’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Grafton’s civic life grade?
A Grafton is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Grafton.
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.