Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5

Sistersville Public Library

Sistersville’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Sistersville Public Library serves 3,825 people in and around Sistersville. Last year it lent 4,925 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,203 visits.

518 Wells Street, Sistersville 26175 · about 31 hours a week

C⁺Civic lifeAhead of 37% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.

Directions (304) 625-6701 What’s a card worth?

Borrowed a year

4,925

1.3 per resident

Visits a year

9,203

2.4 per resident · Below typical (3)

Programs & events

about 1 a week · 866 attended

Cardholders

41%

1,582 cards

Open

31 hrs

a week at this branch

In brief

Sistersville’s library, in brief

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Sistersville Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓

Most programs are for young children

76% of the 67 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 28 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

West Virginia pays a big share

20% of the budget comes from the state, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

People visit, but borrow less than most

Sistersville Public Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 89% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓

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; Sistersville Public Library serves 3,825 people in and around Sistersville, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Sistersville’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sistersville is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns. Sistersville is graded on two of the three inputs. Sistersville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C⁺

Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Sistersville’s overall grade.

–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figure BCommunity nonprofits4.2 per 1,000 residents · WV towns 5.0 · U.S. 3.7 CVolunteering6.1% of adults 25–44 · WV towns 8.9% · U.S. 7.5%

All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 37%

FewerMore

U.S. towns with similar incomes, $34K–$57K (3,547)Ahead of 41%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$57K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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. Sistersville is small (1,319 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

6 community nonprofits are registered in Sistersville

4.2 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 & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24

Youth, sports & recreation00.35 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52

Civic groups, clubs & veterans21.63 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74

Human services10.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59

Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43

Health10.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16

Environment & animals10.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Other00.35 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

6.1%

6.1% of Sistersville’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 Sistersville’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 2.4 visits · typical 3Lower than 60%

Borrowing per resident 1 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 89%

Digital borrowing 0.2 e-items · typical 1Lower than 83%

Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 75%

Programs offered 17.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 74%

Cardholders 41% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 51%

Spending $20 per resident · typical $43Lower than 84%

Fewer per residentMore per resident

Size group

Sistersville Public Library serves 3,825 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 Sistersville Public Library system. The library’s own count.

9,203

visits

2.4 per resident

4,925

loans, print + digital

1.3 per resident

programs & events

866 attended

1,582

library cards

41% of people served

Every open hour3items borrowed

Every week17people at a program

Every day15Wi-Fi sessions

2 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

4,925 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

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

From your couch

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

Kids & programs

67 programs a year

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

Schools in Sistersville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–528

Ages 6–1123

Teens5

Adults11

All ages0

Little ones

0.5

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

866

people at programs

programs

The building

Find it

Sistersville Public Library, 518 Wells Street, Sistersville.

Directions (304) 625-6701

hours open a week

6,480

square feet

With a card

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

New in Sistersville? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.39 worth

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

In a month I’d use…

Books$17 each

Kids’ books$12 each

E-books & audio$15 each

Movies & music$4 each

Programs & classes$10 a program

Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session

Your card saves you about

$204

a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it

$20 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $77K.

Local taxes 73%State 20%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $107K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $77K 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 1,582 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. Sistersville Public Library serves 3,825 people in and around Sistersville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sistersville.

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 Sistersville

Does Sistersville have a public library?

Yes. Sistersville Public Library, 518 Wells Street, serves 3,825 people in and around Sistersville (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sistersville 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 Sistersville’s library?

It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Sistersville’s civic life grade?

C⁺ Sistersville is ahead of 37% 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 Sistersville.

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.

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