Photo: Adamster524 · CC BY-SA 2.0Abingdon’s library lends 2.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Washington County Public Library serves 54,079 people in and around Abingdon. Last year it lent 226K books, movies and e-books and logged 114K visits.
The short version on Abingdon’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Abingdon branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 872 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6 a week 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; Washington County Public Library serves 54,079 people in and around Abingdon, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Abingdon’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Abingdon is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #35 of 88 in Virginia. Abingdon is graded on two of the three inputs. Abingdon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
67 community nonprofits are registered in Abingdon
8.0 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.2%
6.2% of Abingdon’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia 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 Abingdon’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Washington County Public Library serves 54,079 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Washington County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
226K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
82,920 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Washington County Public Library, 205 Oak Hill Street, Abingdon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Washington County Public Library branch.
New in Abingdon? 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 $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Abingdon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 6,448 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Washington County Public Library serves 54,079 people in and around Abingdon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Abingdon.
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 Abingdon
Does Abingdon have a public library?
Yes. Washington County Public Library, 205 Oak Hill Street, serves 54,079 people in and around Abingdon (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washington 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 Abingdon’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Abingdon’s civic life grade?
B+ Abingdon is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 of 88 in Virginia. 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 Abingdon.
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.