Williamsburg’s library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Williamsburg Community Library serves Williamsburg’s 386 residents. Last year it lent 5,417 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,591 visits.
The short version on Williamsburg’s library
More library cards than residents
714 cards for 386 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Williamsburg uses its library more than almost any town its size
Williamsburg Community Library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 67% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Williamsburg Community Library ran 104 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 269 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,915 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
44% of the budget comes from the state, and 46% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Williamsburg’s civic life grade
Williamsburg 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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Williamsburg Community Library serves 386 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5,417 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
730 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Williamsburg Community Library, 107 S. Louisa, Williamsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Williamsburg? 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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williamsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $104K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 714 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Williamsburg’s 6,591 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Williamsburg Community Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Williamsburg
Does Williamsburg have a public library?
Yes. Williamsburg Community Library, 107 S. Louisa, serves Williamsburg’s 386 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Williamsburg Community 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 Williamsburg’s library?
It logged 17.1 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Williamsburg’s civic life grade?
Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg.
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.