Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Appomattox’s library runs 9.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library serves 16,206 people in and around Appomattox. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
Appomattox’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library offered 154 programs last year, 9.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Virginia pays a big share
23% of the budget comes from the state, and 77% 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; J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library serves 16,206 people in and around Appomattox, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Appomattox’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Appomattox is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Appomattox is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Appomattox’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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Appomattox
4.3 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Appomattox’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 Appomattox’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library serves 16,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,402 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
J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library, 157 Main Street, Appomattox.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library branch.
New in Appomattox? 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 $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Appomattox cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $266K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $448K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $266K 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 2,354 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library serves 16,206 people in and around Appomattox, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Appomattox.
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 Appomattox
Does Appomattox have a public library?
Yes. J. Robert Jamerson Memorial Library, 157 Main Street, serves 16,206 people in and around Appomattox (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is J. Robert Jamerson Memorial 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 Appomattox’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Appomattox’s civic life grade?
B Appomattox is ahead of 58% 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 Appomattox.
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.