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Library · Parkesburg · part of Parkesburg Free Library

Parkesburg Free Library

Parkesburg’s library is the Parkesburg Free Library, a branch of Parkesburg Free Library, which serves 12,931 people and lent 65K items last year.

105 West St., Parkesburg 19365 · about 44 hours a week
Borrowed a year
65K
5 per resident
Visits a year
34K
2.7 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
342
about 7 a week · 4,453 attended
Cardholders
22%
2,888 cards
Open
44 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Parkesburg Free Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The building

Find it

Parkesburg Free Library, 105 West St., Parkesburg.

44
hours open a week
1,902
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Parkesburg Free Library branch.

New in Parkesburg? The Handbook →

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

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out

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

34K
visits
2.7 per resident
65K
loans, print + digital
5 per resident
342
programs & events
4,453 attended
2,888
library cards
22% of people served
Every open hour29items borrowed
Every week86people at a program
Every day10Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers
How it compares

Close to typical for its size

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 57%
Borrowing per resident 3.7 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 53%
Digital borrowing 1.3 e-items · typical 1.1Higher than 56%
Kids’ borrowing 1.8 kids’ items · typical 1.8Higher than 50%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 60%
Programs offered 26.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Higher than 56%
Cardholders 22% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 83%
Spending $13 per resident · typical $43Lower than 91%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Parkesburg Free Library serves 12,931 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

65K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

65Kloans
Books & media (adults) 40%Kids’ books & media 35%E-books, audio & streaming 25%
From your couch

16,350 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Parkesburg →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–571
Ages 6–1142
Teens2
Adults110
All ages117
Little ones
1.4

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

23K
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,453
people at programs
342
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $5.90 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
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
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$13 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $171K.

Local taxes 32%State 26%Federal 5%Gifts & other 36%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $171K 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 2,888 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
ParkesburgParkesburg Free Library—44
SadsburyNone of its own——
West SadsburyNone of its own——
HighlandNone of its own——

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.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.
  • System-wide. Parkesburg Free Library is one branch of Parkesburg Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,931 people it serves.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Parkesburg.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Parkesburg Free Library one of the best things about Parkesburg?

Your answer becomes a post in 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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