Photo: Tnewman39 · CC BY-SA 4.0Edenton’s library is a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 76% of systems its size
Edenton’s library is the Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library, a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which serves 41,016 people and lent 90K items last year.
Edenton’s library, in brief
North Carolina pays a big share
34% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 842 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 8.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Edenton’s library is a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (41,016 people), not just the Edenton branch.
What’s behind Edenton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Edenton is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #80 of 234 in North Carolina. Edenton is graded on two of the three inputs. Edenton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Edenton
5.3 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.
4.6%
4.6% of Edenton’s 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 Edenton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Pettigrew Regional Library serves 41,016 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pettigrew Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
90K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,559 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library, 106 W Water St., Edenton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pettigrew Regional Library branch.
New in Edenton? 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 $1.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edenton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 20,578 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edenton | Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library | — | 44 | C+ |
| Cape Colony | 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.
- System-wide. Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library is one branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,016 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 Edenton
Does Edenton have a public library?
Yes: Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library, 106 W Water St., is a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which serves 41,016 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pettigrew Regional 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 Edenton’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Edenton’s civic life grade?
C+ Edenton is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #80 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 Edenton.
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.