Photo: Benson Lossing · Public domainBladensburg’s library is a branch of Prince George's County Memorial Library System, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size
Bladensburg’s library is the Bladensburg Branch, a branch of Prince George's County Memorial Library System, which serves 955,306 people and lent 2.7M items last year.
Bladensburg’s library, in brief
Maryland pays a big share
28% of the budget comes from the state, and 70% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 69% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
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; Bladensburg’s library is a branch of Prince George's County Memorial Library System, so they cover the whole system (955,306 people), not just the Bladensburg branch.
What’s behind Bladensburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bladensburg is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #65 of 67 in Maryland. Bladensburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bladensburg’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$79K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Bladensburg
2.0 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.3%
2.3% of Bladensburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Maryland 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 Bladensburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Prince George's County Memorial Library System serves 955,306 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Prince George's County Memorial Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
985,944 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 60 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
Bladensburg Branch, 4820 Annapolis Rd., Bladensburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Prince George's County Memorial Library System branch.
New in Bladensburg? 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 $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bladensburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M 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 624,938 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bladensburg | Bladensburg Branch fine-free | — | 40 | D− |
| East Riverdale | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Edmonston | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Cottage City | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Cheverly | None of its own | — | — | D |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bladensburg Branch is one branch of Prince George's County Memorial Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 955,306 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 Bladensburg
Does Bladensburg have a public library?
Yes: Bladensburg Branch, 4820 Annapolis Rd., is a branch of Prince George's County Memorial Library System, which serves 955,306 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Prince George's County Memorial Library System 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 Bladensburg’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bladensburg’s civic life grade?
D− Bladensburg is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #65 of 67 in Maryland. 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 Bladensburg.
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.