Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Whitesville’s library is a branch of Boone-Madison Public Library, which lends less per resident than 98% of systems its size
Whitesville’s library is the Whitesville, a branch of Boone-Madison Public Library, which serves 21,809 people and lent 17K items last year.
The short version on Whitesville’s library
The Boone-Madison Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Boone-Madison Public Library system records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
West Virginia pays a big share
52% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Boone-Madison Public Library system offered 115 programs last year, 5.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Whitesville branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 115 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 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; Whitesville’s library is a branch of Boone-Madison Public Library, so they cover the whole system (21,809 people), not just the Whitesville branch.
What’s behind Whitesville’s civic life grade
Whitesville 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Boone-Madison Public Library serves 21,809 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boone-Madison Public Library system. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Whitesville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
6,996 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
Whitesville, 38175 Coal River Road, Whitesville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boone-Madison Public Library branch.
New in Whitesville? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whitesville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $275K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $287K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $275K 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 12,185 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Whitesville is one branch of Boone-Madison Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,809 people it serves.
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 Whitesville
Does Whitesville have a public library?
Yes: Whitesville, 38175 Coal River Road, is a branch of Boone-Madison Public Library, which serves 21,809 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boone-Madison 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 Whitesville’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Whitesville’s civic life grade?
Whitesville 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 Whitesville.
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.