Day-Vandevander Mill · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHarman’s library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Pioneer Memorial Public Library serves 2,236 people in and around Harman. Last year it lent 3,213 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,160 visits.
What Harman’s library is like
Pioneer Memorial Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Pioneer Memorial Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 101 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 11 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
38% of the budget comes from the state, and 44% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Pioneer Memorial Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; Pioneer Memorial Public Library serves 2,236 people in and around Harman, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Harman’s civic life grade
Harman 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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Pioneer Memorial Public Library serves 2,236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pioneer Memorial Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,213 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Harman’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,116 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
Pioneer Memorial Public Library, 22526 Allegheny Highway, Harman.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pioneer Memorial Public Library branch.
New in Harman? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Harman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $67K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 751 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Pioneer Memorial Public Library serves 2,236 people in and around Harman, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Harman.
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 Harman
Does Harman have a public library?
Yes. Pioneer Memorial Public Library, 22526 Allegheny Highway, serves 2,236 people in and around Harman (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pioneer Memorial 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 Harman’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Harman’s civic life grade?
Harman 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 Harman.
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.