Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY-SA 3.0Oceana’s library is a branch of Wyoming County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 96% of systems its size
Oceana’s library is the Oceana, a branch of Wyoming County Public Library, which serves 21,382 people and lent 21K items last year.
Oceana’s library, in brief
The Wyoming County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Wyoming County Public Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 130 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 36 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
50% of the budget comes from the state, and 47% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Wyoming County Public Library system offered 130 programs last year, 6.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Wyoming County Public Library system spends $10 per resident, less than 96% 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; Oceana’s library is a branch of Wyoming County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (21,382 people), not just the Oceana branch.
What’s behind Oceana’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oceana is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. Oceana is graded on two of the three inputs. Oceana’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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Oceana
11.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.3%
5.3% of Oceana’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 Oceana’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Wyoming County Public Library serves 21,382 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wyoming County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Oceana’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
7,196 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Oceana, 1519 Cook Parkway, Oceana.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Wyoming County Public Library branch.
New in Oceana? 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 $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oceana cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $223K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $353K 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 8,771 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Oceana is one branch of Wyoming County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,382 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 Oceana
Does Oceana have a public library?
Yes: Oceana, 1519 Cook Parkway, is a branch of Wyoming County Public Library, which serves 21,382 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wyoming 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 Oceana’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Oceana’s civic life grade?
B Oceana is ahead of 62% 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 Oceana.
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.