New Haven’s library is a branch of Mason County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 98% of systems its size
New Haven’s library is the New Haven, a branch of Mason County Public Library, which serves 25,453 people and lent 14K items last year.
What New Haven’s library is like
The Mason County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Mason County Public Library system 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
The Mason County Public Library system 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; New Haven’s library is a branch of Mason County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (25,453 people), not just the New Haven branch.
What’s behind New Haven’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Haven is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. New Haven is graded on two of the three inputs. New Haven’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in New Haven
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of New Haven’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical West Virginia town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where New Haven’s residents live; 2022.
45% of borrowing is digital
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for New Haven’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
New Haven, 106 Main St., New Haven.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mason County Public Library branch.
New in New Haven? 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 New Haven 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven | New Haven | — | 24 | B |
| Sutton Township | Racine Branch fine-free | — | 48 | C |
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. New Haven is one branch of Mason County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,453 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 New Haven
Does New Haven have a public library?
Yes: New Haven, 106 Main St., is a branch of Mason County Public Library, which serves 25,453 people. The branch 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 New Haven’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 New Haven’s civic life grade?
B New Haven is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in New Haven.
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.