Shumaker-Lewis House · Photo: thekingofmice · CC BY-SA 3.0Mason’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Mason County Public Library serves 25,453 people in and around Mason. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Mason’s library
Mason County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mason County Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
51% of the budget comes from the state, and 38% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 144 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Mason County Public Library offered 144 programs last year, 5.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Mason County Public Library serves 25,453 people in and around Mason, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Mason’s civic life grade
Mason 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 →
45% of borrowing is digital
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Mason’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
6,160 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mason County Public Library serves 25,453 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mason County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
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
Mason City, 502 Brown St., Mason.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mason County Public Library branch.
New in Mason? 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 Mason cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $304K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $238K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $304K 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 3,964 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason | Mason City | — | 24 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Clifton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mason County Public Library serves 25,453 people in and around Mason, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Mason.
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 Mason
Does Mason have a public library?
Yes. Mason County Public Library, 502 Brown St., serves 25,453 people in and around Mason (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason County Public Library 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 Mason’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Mason’s civic life grade?
Mason 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 Mason.
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.