Photo: David G. Simpson · Public domainSouth Charleston’s library runs 17 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
South Charleston Public Library serves South Charleston’s 13,647 residents. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
What stands out about South Charleston’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind South Charleston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Charleston is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #36 of 48 in West Virginia. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
57 community nonprofits are registered in South Charleston
4.3 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of South Charleston’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 South Charleston’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
South Charleston Public Library serves 13,647 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for South Charleston’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 64K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
35,527 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, 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
South Charleston Public Library, 312 4th Avenue, South Charleston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in South Charleston? 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 $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Charleston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $833K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $833K 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 7,310 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Charleston | South Charleston Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 50 | B |
| Charleston | Kanawha County Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | A |
| Dunbar | Dunbar fine-free | — | 54 | B+ |
| Jefferson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 South Charleston
Does South Charleston have a public library?
Yes. South Charleston Public Library, 312 4th Avenue, serves South Charleston’s 13,647 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Charleston 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 South Charleston’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is South Charleston’s civic life grade?
B South Charleston is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 of 48 in West Virginia. 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 South Charleston.
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.