Photo: Duckdave · CC BY-SA 4.0Barrie has two public libraries, Barrie Public Library - Downtown Branch and Barrie Public Library - Painswick Branch
The 159,521 people Barrie Public Library serves have 2 branches to choose from. In 2024 it lent 5 items for every person it serves. Like every Ontario library, it reports one typical week of visits, and the year is that week times 52: an estimate.
CCivic life#711 of 866 in OntarioBehind Barrie’s civic life grade
Barrie gets a C for civic life, #711 of 866 towns graded in Ontario. All three civic life inputs exist for Barrie: library visits per resident, charities per 1,000 residents and the provincial volunteering rate.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
220 registered charities give a Barrie mailing address
Per 1,000 residents that makes 1.3; the median is 1.4 for Ontario towns and 1.4 for Canada’s. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.
32.1%
Volunteering here is a provincial number: 32.1% of people across Ontario in 2023, likely 31.0% to 33.2%, set in a ten-province range of 25.2% to 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on 2 of 3 measures
Measured per person served against the 195 town libraries of Ontario’s 2024 statistics.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
A typical week brings about 10,218 visits
Everything counted at Barrie Public Library in 2024: visits, loans and cards.
Barrie’s 2 public libraries
In order of distance from the centre of Barrie, as the crow flies.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Library locations. Only public libraries are mapped: OpenStreetMap and Statistics Canada’s 2020 list, with school and university libraries removed.
Questions about the library and civic life in Barrie
Does Barrie have a public library?
Yes, 2: Barrie Public Library - Downtown Branch and Barrie Public Library - Painswick Branch.
How busy is Barrie Public Library?
People made 531,336 visits in person and borrowed 804,864 items in 2024.
Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).