Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Parsons’ library lends 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Five Rivers Public Library serves 3,854 people in and around Parsons. Last year it lent 7,175 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,585 visits.
Parsons’s library, in brief
West Virginia pays a big share
44% of the budget comes from the state, and 33% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 73 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 36 were for children. 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; Five Rivers Public Library serves 3,854 people in and around Parsons, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Parsons’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Parsons is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Parsons is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Parsons
7.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.9%
15.9% of Parsons’ 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 Parsons’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Five Rivers Public Library serves 3,854 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Five Rivers Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,175 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Parsons’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,683 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
73 programs a year
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
Five Rivers Public Library, 301 Walnut St., Parsons.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Five Rivers Public Library branch.
New in Parsons? 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 Parsons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $151K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $129K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $151K 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 2,459 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Five Rivers Public Library serves 3,854 people in and around Parsons, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Parsons.
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 Parsons
Does Parsons have a public library?
Yes. Five Rivers Public Library, 301 Walnut St., serves 3,854 people in and around Parsons (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Five Rivers 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 Parsons’ library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Parsons’ civic life grade?
A+ Parsons is ahead of 98% 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 Parsons.
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.