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Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library · part of Neuse Regional Library

Kinston’s library is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size

Kinston’s library is the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which serves 83,327 people and lent 186K items last year.

510 N Queen St., Kinston 28501 · about 62 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 39% of U.S. towns · #71 of 234 in North Carolina. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (252) 527-7066 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
186K
2.2 per resident
Visits a year
188K
2.3 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
3,493
about 67 a week · 69K attended
Cardholders
46%
38,556 cards
Open
62 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Kinston’s library

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

The Neuse Regional Library system ran 3,493 programs last year, about 67 a week. That’s 42 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 69,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓

Kids’ books are most of what goes out

Children’s books and media make up 66% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 69% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓

Federal money pays a real share

4% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Kinston’s library is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (83,327 people), not just the Kinston branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Kinston’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kinston is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #71 of 234 in North Carolina. Kinston is graded on two of the three inputs. Kinston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Kinston’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits5.9 per 1,000 residents · NC towns 3.4 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.2% of adults 25–44 · NC towns 5.2% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 39%
FewerMore
North Carolina towns we grade (234)Ahead of 70%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $28K–$46K (1,320)Ahead of 55%

Among U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($28K–$46K) it does better, ahead of 55%.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

116 community nonprofits are registered in Kinston

5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture60.31 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation110.56 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans331.71 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services251.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education160.84 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health40.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.10 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other180.92 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (49 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

4.2%

4.2% of Kinston’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 Kinston’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 34 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Kinston →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5730
Ages 6–111,030
Teens356
Adults996
All ages381
Little ones
14

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

82K
kids’ books & media borrowed
69K
people at programs
3,493
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.3 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 1.5 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 80%
Digital borrowing 0.7 e-items · typical 1.2Lower than 67%
Kids’ borrowing 1 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 69%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.3Top 10%
Programs offered 41.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Top 10%
Cardholders 46% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 62%
Spending $24 per resident · typical $40Lower than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Neuse Regional Library serves 83,327 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Neuse Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

188K
visits
2.3 per resident
186K
loans, print + digital
2.2 per resident
3,493
programs & events
69K attended
39K
library cards
46% of people served
Every open hour11items borrowed
Every week1,321people at a program
Every day1,641Wi-Fi sessions
29 staff (full-time equivalent)101 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

186K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

186Kloans
Books & media (adults) 23%Kids’ books & media 44%E-books, audio & streaming 33%
From your couch

61,440 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, 510 N Queen St., Kinston.

Directions(252) 527-7066
62
hours open a week
26,665
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Neuse Regional Library branch.

New in Kinston? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.52 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kinston cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$240
a year at retail prices · $20 a month

Who pays for it
$24 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.

Local taxes 57%State 19%Federal 4%Gifts & other 20%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 38,556 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library is one branch of Neuse Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 83,327 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 Kinston

Does Kinston have a public library?

Yes: Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library, 510 N Queen St., is a branch of Neuse Regional Library, which serves 83,327 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Neuse 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 Kinston’s library?

It logged 2.3 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 Kinston’s civic life grade?

C+ Kinston is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 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 Kinston.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.