Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Virginia’s library lends 8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Virginia Public Library serves Virginia’s 8,361 residents. Last year it lent 80K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
The short version on Virginia’s library
Virginia out-borrows every town next door
At 9.6 loans per resident, Virginia leads the four towns here. The closest is Mountain Iron, at 7.3. Libraries next door ↓
Virginia invests in its library
Virginia Public Library spends $106 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Virginia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Virginia is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #44 of 271 in Minnesota. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Virginia’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 →
65 community nonprofits are registered in Virginia
7.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Virginia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota 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 Virginia’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 57K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
13,209 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Virginia Public Library serves 8,361 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Virginia last year.
Find it
Virginia Public Library, 215 5th Avenue S, Virginia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Virginia? 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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Virginia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $883K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $883K 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 4,555 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Virginia borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Virginia Public Library fine-free | 9.6 | 33 | A− |
| Mountain Iron | Mountain Iron Public Library fine-free | 7.3 | 36 | B+ |
| Eveleth | Eveleth Public Library | 6.8 | 30 | B− |
| Gilbert | Gilbert Public Library | 5.3 | 34 | C |
| Wuori Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Biwabik Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Virginia Public 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 Virginia
Does Virginia have a public library?
Yes. Virginia Public Library, 215 5th Avenue S, serves Virginia’s 8,361 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Virginia Public 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 Virginia’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Virginia’s civic life grade?
A− Virginia is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #44 of 271 in Minnesota. 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 Virginia.
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.