Williamsburg Historic District · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Williamsburg’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Williamsburg Public Library serves 6,067 people in and around Williamsburg. Last year it lent 5,688 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,483 visits.
The short version on Williamsburg’s library
Williamsburg Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Williamsburg Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
55% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 11%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
94% of the 62 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 29 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Williamsburg Public Library offered 62 programs last year, 10 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Williamsburg Public Library serves 6,067 people in and around Williamsburg, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Williamsburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Williamsburg is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Williamsburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Williamsburg’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Williamsburg
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Williamsburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania 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 Williamsburg’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Williamsburg Public Library serves 6,067 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Williamsburg Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,688 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
567 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Williamsburg Public Library, 511 West 2nd St., Williamsburg.
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 Williamsburg Public Library branch.
New in Williamsburg? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williamsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $100K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 814 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamsburg | Williamsburg Public Library fine-free | — | 24 | B+ |
| Woodbury Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Catharine Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Robeson Extension | None 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).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Williamsburg Public Library serves 6,067 people in and around Williamsburg, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Williamsburg.
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 Williamsburg
Does Williamsburg have a public library?
Yes. Williamsburg Public Library, 511 West 2nd St., serves 6,067 people in and around Williamsburg (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Williamsburg’s civic life grade?
B+ Williamsburg is ahead of 71% 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 Williamsburg.
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.