Photo: Andrew Bain · CC BY-SA 3.0Amherst’s library runs 5.3 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Amherst County Public Library serves 31,491 people in and around Amherst. Last year it lent 162K books, movies and e-books and logged 65K visits.
The short version on Amherst’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Amherst County Public Library offered 168 programs last year, 5.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 168 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Virginia pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 79% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Amherst County Public Library serves 31,491 people in and around Amherst, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Amherst’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Amherst is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. Amherst is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Amherst’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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Amherst
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Amherst’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 Amherst’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.
Amherst County Public Library serves 31,491 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Amherst County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
162K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,774 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Amherst County Public Library, 382 South Main Street, Amherst.
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 Amherst County Public Library branch.
New in Amherst? 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 $2.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Amherst cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M 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 1,106 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Amherst County Public Library serves 31,491 people in and around Amherst, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Amherst.
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 Amherst
Does Amherst have a public library?
Yes. Amherst County Public Library, 382 South Main Street, serves 31,491 people in and around Amherst (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Amherst 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 Amherst’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Amherst’s civic life grade?
B+ Amherst is ahead of 72% 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 Amherst.
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.