Photo: Taber Bain · Public domainHelvetia’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Helvetia Public Library serves 3,631 people in and around Helvetia. Last year it lent 1,130 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,752 visits.
Helvetia’s library, in brief
Helvetia Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Helvetia Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
48% of the budget comes from the state, and 34% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Helvetia Public Library offered 17 programs last year, 4.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Helvetia Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% 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; Helvetia Public Library serves 3,631 people in and around Helvetia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Helvetia’s civic life grade
Helvetia 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.
Helvetia Public Library serves 3,631 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Helvetia Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Helvetia Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,130 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Helvetia’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
199 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
17 programs a year
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
Helvetia Public Library, 4901 Pickens Road, Helvetia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Helvetia Public Library branch.
New in Helvetia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Helvetia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 190 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Helvetia Public Library serves 3,631 people in and around Helvetia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Helvetia.
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 Helvetia
Does Helvetia have a public library?
Yes. Helvetia Public Library, 4901 Pickens Road, serves 3,631 people in and around Helvetia (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Helvetia 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 Helvetia’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Helvetia’s civic life grade?
Helvetia 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 Helvetia.
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.