Photo: TownofPembrokeNC · CC BY-SA 4.0Pembroke’s library is a branch of Robeson County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 95% of systems its size
Pembroke’s library is the Pembroke Public Library, a branch of Robeson County Public Library, which serves 116,438 people and lent 103K items last year.
What Pembroke’s library is like
The Robeson County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Robeson County Public Library system records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Robeson County Public Library system offered 270 programs last year, 2.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Robeson County Public Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 270 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 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; Pembroke’s library is a branch of Robeson County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (116,438 people), not just the Pembroke branch.
What’s behind Pembroke’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pembroke is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #178 of 234 in North Carolina. Pembroke is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Pembroke’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Robeson County Public Library spends $13 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($19K–$32K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Pembroke
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.4%
3.4% of Pembroke’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 Pembroke’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Robeson County Public Library serves 116,438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Robeson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
103K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,270 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Pembroke Public Library, 413 S Blaine St., Pembroke.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Robeson County Public Library branch.
New in Pembroke? 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 $1.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pembroke cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. 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.
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 8,754 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Pembroke Public Library is one branch of Robeson County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 116,438 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 Pembroke
Does Pembroke have a public library?
Yes: Pembroke Public Library, 413 S Blaine St., is a branch of Robeson County Public Library, which serves 116,438 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Robeson County 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 Pembroke’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pembroke’s civic life grade?
D Pembroke is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #178 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 Pembroke.
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.