Photo: Crazyleaper at English Wikipedia · Public domainBlacksburg’s library is a branch of Cherokee County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Blacksburg’s library is the Blacksburg Public Library, a branch of Cherokee County Public Library, which serves 56,216 people and lent 47K items last year.
What Blacksburg’s library is like
The Cherokee County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Cherokee County Public Library system records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 439 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 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; Blacksburg’s library is a branch of Cherokee County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (56,216 people), not just the Blacksburg branch.
What’s behind Blacksburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blacksburg is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns. Blacksburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Cherokee County Public Library spends $20 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($24K–$40K) 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Blacksburg
2.0 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Blacksburg’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South 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 Blacksburg’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Cherokee County Public Library serves 56,216 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cherokee County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
47K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Blacksburg Public Library, 201 South Rutherford Street, Blacksburg.
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 Cherokee County Public Library branch.
New in Blacksburg? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blacksburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $820K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 23,815 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Blacksburg Public Library is one branch of Cherokee County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 56,216 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 Blacksburg
Does Blacksburg have a public library?
Yes: Blacksburg Public Library, 201 South Rutherford Street, is a branch of Cherokee County Public Library, which serves 56,216 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cherokee 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 Blacksburg’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Blacksburg’s civic life grade?
D Blacksburg is ahead of 6% 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 Blacksburg.
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.