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Garner FarmGarner Farm · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Halifax County Library System

Weldon’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size

Halifax County Library System serves 31,954 people in and around Weldon. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.

6 W 1st St., Weldon 27890 · about 41 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 25% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
27K
0.8 per resident
Visits a year
36K
1.1 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
307
about 6 a week · 8,930 attended
Cardholders
16%
5,018 cards
Open
41 hrs
a week
In brief

What Weldon’s library is like

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 ↓

Halifax County Library System serves more than Weldon

The library’s service area covers 31,954 people in and around Weldon, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Weldon’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Weldon is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. Weldon is graded on two of the three inputs. Weldon’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 Weldon’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 25%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $36K–$60K (4,393)Ahead of 27%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$60K) 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. Weldon is small (1,374 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

8 community nonprofits are registered in Weldon

4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other10.61 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

1.2%

1.2% of Weldon’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 Weldon’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 1.1 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 87%
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 0.3 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 58%
Programs offered 9.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Lower than 71%
Cardholders 16% of residents · typical 39%Bottom 10%
Spending $27 per resident · typical $40Lower than 69%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Halifax County Library System serves 31,954 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 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

36K
visits
1.1 per resident
27K
loans, print + digital
0.8 per resident
307
programs & events
8,930 attended
5,018
library cards
16% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week172people at a program
Every day49Wi-Fi sessions
12 staff (full-time equivalent)50 public computers63K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

27Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 18%
How hard the shelves work
0.4×

Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.

From your couch

4,745 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 4 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Weldon →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–583
Ages 6–11100
Teens31
Adults62
All ages31
Little ones
1.6

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

7,919
kids’ books & media borrowed
8,930
people at programs
307
programs
The building

Find it

Weldon Memorial Library, 6 W 1st St., Weldon.

41
hours open a week
3,520
square feet
63K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Weldon? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Weldon 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
$27 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $863K.

Local taxes 85%State 13%Gifts & other 2%

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.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Roanoke RapidsRoanoke Rapids Public Library1.338D
WeldonWeldon Memorial Library fine-free0.841C−
South WeldonNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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 Weldon

Does Weldon have a public library?

Yes. Halifax County Library System, 6 W 1st St., serves 31,954 people in and around Weldon (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 Weldon’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 Weldon’s civic life grade?

C− Weldon is ahead of 25% 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 Weldon.

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.