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Richwood Public Library

Richwood’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Richwood Public Library serves 8,201 people in and around Richwood. Last year it lent 5,418 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,240 visits.

8 White Ave., Richwood 26261 · about 30 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 97% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (304) 846-6222 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
5,418
0.7 per resident
Visits a year
6,240
0.8 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
60
about 1 a week · 1,524 attended
Cardholders
39%
3,208 cards
Open
30 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Richwood’s library is like

Richwood Public Library is used less than most libraries its size

Richwood Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Programs are almost all for children

82% of the 60 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 6 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Richwood Public Library offered 60 programs last year, 7.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

27% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 30%. What your card is worth ↓

Runs on less money than most

Richwood Public Library spends $13 per resident, less than 93% 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; Richwood Public Library serves 8,201 people in and around Richwood, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Richwood’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Richwood is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Richwood 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.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Richwood’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits5.8 per 1,000 residents · WV towns 5.0 · U.S. 3.7A+Volunteering24.4% of adults 25–44 · WV towns 8.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 97%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $23K–$39K (515)Among the top 1%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Richwood is small (1,598 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

14 community nonprofits are registered in Richwood

5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans52.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.83 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.25 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

24.4%

24.4% of Richwood’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 Richwood’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.8 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1Lower than 85%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 80%
Programs offered 7.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 89%
Cardholders 39% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 54%
Spending $13 per resident · typical $43Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Richwood Public Library serves 8,201 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Richwood Public Library system. The library’s own count.

6,240
visits
0.8 per resident
5,418
loans, print + digital
0.7 per resident
60
programs & events
1,524 attended
3,208
library cards
39% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week29people at a program
Every week120visits
2 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

5,418 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

The survey has no count of children’s loans for Richwood’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

From your couch

1,518 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

60 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Richwood →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–56
Ages 6–1143
Teens0
Adults6
All ages5
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1,524
people at programs
60
programs
The building

Find it

Richwood Public Library, 8 White Ave., Richwood.

Directions(304) 846-6222
30
hours open a week
5,476
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Richwood Public Library branch.

New in Richwood? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Richwood cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$13 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $106K.

Local taxes 30%State 44%Gifts & other 27%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $104K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $106K budget.

Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.

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 3,208 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Richwood Public Library serves 8,201 people in and around Richwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Richwood.

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 Richwood

Does Richwood have a public library?

Yes. Richwood Public Library, 8 White Ave., serves 8,201 people in and around Richwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Richwood Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?

Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Richwood’s library?

It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Richwood’s civic life grade?

A+ Richwood is ahead of 97% 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 Richwood.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.