Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Alexandria’s library is a branch of Justin Potter Library, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
Alexandria’s library is the Alexandria Branch Library, a branch of Justin Potter Library, which serves 21,225 people and lent 43K items last year.
The short version on Alexandria’s library
The Justin Potter Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Justin Potter Library system records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Justin Potter Library system offered 36 programs last year, 1.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Justin Potter Library system spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Alexandria’s library is a branch of Justin Potter Library, so they cover the whole system (21,225 people), not just the Alexandria branch.
What’s behind Alexandria’s civic life grade
Alexandria isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
43% of borrowing is digital
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,565 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Justin Potter Library serves 21,225 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Justin Potter Library system. The library’s own count.
36 programs a year
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
Alexandria Branch Library, 109 Public Square, Alexandria.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Justin Potter Library branch.
New in Alexandria? 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 $3.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alexandria cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $215K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $706K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $215K 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 10,320 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Alexandria Branch Library is one branch of Justin Potter Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,225 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 Alexandria
Does Alexandria have a public library?
Yes: Alexandria Branch Library, 109 Public Square, is a branch of Justin Potter Library, which serves 21,225 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Justin Potter 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 Alexandria’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alexandria’s civic life grade?
Alexandria isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Alexandria.
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.