Photo: FloNight · CC BY-SA 4.0Matewan’s library is a branch of Mingo County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Matewan’s library is the Matewan, a branch of Mingo County Public Library, which serves 19,389 people and lent 31K items last year.
Matewan’s library, in brief
The Mingo County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Mingo County Public Library system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
96% of the 108 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
49% of the budget comes from the state, and 39% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Mingo County Public Library system offered 108 programs last year, 5.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Mingo County Public Library system spends $12 per resident, less than 94% 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; Matewan’s library is a branch of Mingo County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (19,389 people), not just the Matewan branch.
What’s behind Matewan’s civic life grade
Matewan 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mingo County Public Library serves 19,389 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mingo County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Matewan’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,610 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
Matewan, 97 First Avenue, Matewan.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mingo County Public Library branch.
New in Matewan? 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 $2.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Matewan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $538K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $223K 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 8,297 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matewan | Matewan | — | 38 | — under 1,000 residents |
| McCarr | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Red Jacket | 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. Matewan is one branch of Mingo County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 19,389 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 Matewan
Does Matewan have a public library?
Yes: Matewan, 97 First Avenue, is a branch of Mingo County Public Library, which serves 19,389 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mingo 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 Matewan’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Matewan’s civic life grade?
Matewan 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 Matewan.
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.