Photo: WVhybrid at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Marlinton’s library is a branch of Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size
Marlinton’s library is the Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Information Centers, a branch of Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa, which serves 7,869 people and lent 34K items last year.
What Marlinton’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa system ran 826 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 826 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Marlinton’s library is a branch of Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa, so they cover the whole system (7,869 people), not just the Marlinton branch.
What’s behind Marlinton’s civic life grade
Marlinton 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 13 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 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa serves 7,869 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
34K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Marlinton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
9,018 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Information Centers, 500 8th Street, Marlinton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa branch.
New in Marlinton? 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 $2.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marlinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $325K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $677K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $325K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,840 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Information Centers is one branch of Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,869 people it serves.
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 Marlinton
Does Marlinton have a public library?
Yes: Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Information Centers, 500 8th Street, is a branch of Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa, which serves 7,869 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pocahontas County Libraries & Visitor Informa fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marlinton’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Marlinton’s civic life grade?
Marlinton 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 Marlinton.
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.