Photo: Cecouchman · CC BY-SA 3.0Halifax’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Halifax County Library System serves Halifax’s 31,954 residents from 5 locations. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
Halifax’s library, in brief
Halifax County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
Halifax County Library System records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Halifax County Library System serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Halifax County Library System holds 63,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Five places to borrow in Halifax
Halifax County Library System runs five locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Halifax’s civic life grade
Halifax isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Halifax County Library System serves 31,954 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
4,745 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs 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.
5 places to borrow in Halifax
Halifax County Library, 33 Granville St., Halifax.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Halifax? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Halifax
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Halifax cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $863K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $553K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $863K 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 5,018 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Halifax
Does Halifax have a public library?
Yes. Halifax County Library System, 33 Granville St., serves Halifax’s 31,954 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Halifax County 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 Halifax’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Halifax’s civic life grade?
Halifax isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Halifax.
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.