Photo: Piperpet · CC BY-SA 4.0Boiling Spring Lakes has no public library of its own; the nearest is G. V. Barbee, Sr. Library in Oak Island, 9 miles away
Boiling Spring Lakes doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is G. V. Barbee, Sr. Library in Oak Island, 9 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
B+Civic lifeAhead of 68% of U.S. towns · #25 of 234 in North Carolina. Nonprofits and volunteering.What’s behind Boiling Spring Lakes’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Boiling Spring Lakes is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #25 of 234 in North Carolina. Boiling Spring Lakes is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Boiling Spring Lakes’ 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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Boiling Spring Lakes
5.2 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 (6 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.
7.6%
7.6% of Boiling Spring Lakes’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical North Carolina 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 Boiling Spring Lakes’ residents live; 2022.
The closest is 9 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Boiling Spring Lakes. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Island | G. V. Barbee, Sr. Library | — | 52 | C+ |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Boiling Spring Lakes
Does Boiling Spring Lakes have a public library?
No. The closest is G. V. Barbee, Sr. Library in Oak Island, 9 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Boiling Spring Lakes’ civic life grade?
B+ Boiling Spring Lakes is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 of 234 in North Carolina. 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 Boiling Spring Lakes.
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.