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Pinetops Branch Library · part of Edgecombe County Memorial Library

Pinetops’ library is a branch of Edgecombe County Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size

Pinetops’s library is the Pinetops Branch Library, a branch of Edgecombe County Memorial Library, which serves 48,491 people and lent 39K items last year.

201 S 1st St., Pinetops 27864 · about 46 hours a week
D−Civic lifeAhead of 4% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (252) 827-4621 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
39K
0.8 per resident
Visits a year
72K
1.5 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
234
about 5 a week · 8,867 attended
Cardholders
84%
40,530 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Pinetops’s library

Few programs for a library this size

The Edgecombe County Memorial Library system offered 234 programs last year, 4.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓

Most programs are for young children

74% of the 234 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

84% of the people it serves carry a library card

40,530 cards for 48,491 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓

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; Pinetops’s library is a branch of Edgecombe County Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (48,491 people), not just the Pinetops branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Pinetops’ civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pinetops is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns. Pinetops is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Pinetops’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Pinetops’ overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC−Community nonprofits2.4 per 1,000 residents · NC towns 3.4 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering2.4% of adults 25–44 · NC towns 5.2% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 4%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $45K–$76K (7,779)Ahead of 5%

Edgecombe County Memorial Library spends $16 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$76K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Pinetops is small (1,198 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; 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

4 community nonprofits are registered in Pinetops

2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.21 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.05 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.84 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

2.4%

2.4% of Pinetops’ 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 Pinetops’ residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.5 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 78%
Borrowing per resident 0.7 print items · typical 3.7Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1.2Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.2 kids’ items · typical 1.7Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 75%
Programs offered 4.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Bottom 10%
Cardholders 84% of residents · typical 39%Top 10%
Spending $16 per resident · typical $40Lower than 87%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Edgecombe County Memorial Library serves 48,491 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 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Edgecombe County Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.

72K
visits
1.5 per resident
39K
loans, print + digital
0.8 per resident
234
programs & events
8,867 attended
41K
library cards
84% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week171people at a program
Every day149Wi-Fi sessions
12 staff (full-time equivalent)23 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

39Kloans
Books & media (adults) 58%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 13%
From your couch

5,127 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Pinetops →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–569
Ages 6–11105
Teens0
Adults60
All ages0
Little ones
1.3

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

11K
kids’ books & media borrowed
8,867
people at programs
234
programs
The building

Find it

Pinetops Branch Library, 201 S 1st St., Pinetops.

Directions(252) 827-4621
46
hours open a week
6,000
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Edgecombe County Memorial Library branch.

New in Pinetops? 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 $1.12 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pinetops 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
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$16 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $761K.

Local taxes 71%State 18%Gifts & other 11%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $849K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $761K 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 40,530 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. Pinetops Branch Library is one branch of Edgecombe County Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,491 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 Pinetops

Does Pinetops have a public library?

Yes: Pinetops Branch Library, 201 S 1st St., is a branch of Edgecombe County Memorial Library, which serves 48,491 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Edgecombe County Memorial 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 Pinetops’ library?

It logged 1.5 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 Pinetops’ civic life grade?

D− Pinetops is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Pinetops.

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.