Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Paw Paw’s library lends 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Paw Paw Public Library serves 5,689 people in and around Paw Paw. Last year it lent 2,890 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,923 visits.
Paw Paw’s library, in brief
Paw Paw Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Paw Paw Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 47% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
80% of the 119 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Paw Paw Public Library spends $16 per resident, less than 90% 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; Paw Paw Public Library serves 5,689 people in and around Paw Paw, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Paw Paw’s civic life grade
Paw Paw 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Paw Paw Public Library serves 5,689 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Paw Paw Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,890 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Paw Paw’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
420 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
Paw Paw Public Library, 250 Moser Avenue, Paw Paw.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Paw Paw Public Library branch.
New in Paw Paw? 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 Paw Paw cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $89K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $89K 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 1,855 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Paw Paw Public Library serves 5,689 people in and around Paw Paw, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Paw Paw.
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 Paw Paw
Does Paw Paw have a public library?
Yes. Paw Paw Public Library, 250 Moser Avenue, serves 5,689 people in and around Paw Paw (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paw Paw 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 Paw Paw’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paw Paw’s civic life grade?
Paw Paw 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 Paw Paw.
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.