Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Hamlin’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library serves 20,463 people in and around Hamlin. Last year it lent 107K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
Hamlin’s library, in brief
West Virginia pays a big share
32% of the budget comes from the state, and 45% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 89% 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; Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library serves 20,463 people in and around Hamlin, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hamlin’s civic life grade
Hamlin 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 →
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library serves 20,463 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
107K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Hamlin’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
4,963 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, 7999 Lynn Avenue, Hamlin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library branch.
New in Hamlin? 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 $5.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamlin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $345K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $345K 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 13,080 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library serves 20,463 people in and around Hamlin, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hamlin.
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 Hamlin
Does Hamlin have a public library?
Yes. Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library, 7999 Lynn Avenue, serves 20,463 people in and around Hamlin (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamlin-Lincoln 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 Hamlin’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamlin’s civic life grade?
Hamlin 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 Hamlin.
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.