Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Weston’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Louis Bennett Public Library serves 17,033 people in and around Weston. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,392 visits.
The short version on Weston’s library
Louis Bennett Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Louis Bennett Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $6 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
41% of the budget comes from the state, and 59% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Lewis County War Memorial and Louis Bennett Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today’s library there has 5,500 square feet. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Louis Bennett Public Library offered 99 programs last year, 5.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 99 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Louis Bennett Public Library serves 17,033 people in and around Weston, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Weston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Weston is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #34 of 48 in West Virginia. Weston is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Weston’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Weston
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Weston’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 Weston’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1978
Louis Bennett Public Library, 148 Court Avenue, Weston.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Louis Bennett Public Library branch.
New in Weston? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Lewis County War Memorial and Louis Bennett Library
Lewis County War Memorial and Louis Bennett Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 9, 1978. It is significant for its politics, architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as High Victorian Italianate.
Jonathan M. Bennett House, also known as Louis Bennett Public Library, is a historic home located at Weston, Lewis County, West Virginia. Its name reflects its builder, Jonathan M. Bennett, who represented Lewis County in the Virginia General Assembly and served as state auditor before the American Civil War.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Louis Bennett Public Library serves 17,033 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Louis Bennett Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Weston’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
6,146 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Weston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $103K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $281K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $103K 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 1,551 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Louis Bennett Public Library serves 17,033 people in and around Weston, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Weston.
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 Weston
Does Weston have a public library?
Yes. Louis Bennett Public Library, 148 Court Avenue, serves 17,033 people in and around Weston (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Louis Bennett 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 Weston’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Weston’s civic life grade?
B Weston is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #34 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 Weston.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.