Photo: Charlotte Jackson · CC BY 4.0Hagerstown’s library is a branch of Washington County Free Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Hagerstown’s library is the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch, a branch of Washington County Free Library, which serves 154,937 people and lent 708K items last year.
The short version on Hagerstown’s library
Maryland pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 54% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Hagerstown branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Hagerstown’s library is a branch of Washington County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (154,937 people), not just the Hagerstown branch.
What’s behind Hagerstown’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hagerstown is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #4 of 67 in Maryland. Hagerstown is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hagerstown’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
267 community nonprofits are registered in Hagerstown
6.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (94 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 19 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of Hagerstown’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 Hagerstown’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Washington County Free Library serves 154,937 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
708K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
204,310 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 24 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
Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch, 100 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Free Library branch.
New in Hagerstown? 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 $2.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hagerstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.2M 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 70,375 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hagerstown | Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch | — | 65 | A |
| Halfway | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Robinwood | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Fountainhead-Orchard Hills | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Paramount-Long Meadow | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Funkstown | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
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. Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch is one branch of Washington County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 154,937 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 Hagerstown
Does Hagerstown have a public library?
Yes: Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch, 100 S. Potomac St., is a branch of Washington County Free Library, which serves 154,937 people. The branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington County Free 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 Hagerstown’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Hagerstown’s civic life grade?
A Hagerstown is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Hagerstown.
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.