Pentagon, The (Boundary Increase) · Photo: Touch Of Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Arlington’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Arlington Dept. of Libraries serves 237,107 people in and around Arlington from 9 locations. Last year it lent 4.3M books, movies and e-books and logged 1.1M visits.
The short version on Arlington’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Arlington Dept. of Libraries logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 50% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 50%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 3,261 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,394 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Nine branches in Arlington
Arlington has nine branches of the Arlington Dept. of Libraries, which serves 237,107 people in and around Arlington. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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; Arlington Dept. of Libraries serves 237,107 people in and around Arlington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Arlington’s civic life grade
On library visits and volunteering, Arlington is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #33 of 88 in Virginia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #51. Arlington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
Volunteering in Arlington
Arlington is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.8%
7.8% of Arlington’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 Arlington’s residents live; 2022.
50% of borrowing is digital
4.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,151,210 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Arlington Dept. of Libraries serves 237,107 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 176 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Arlington Dept. of Libraries system. The library’s own count.
About 27 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.
9 places to borrow in Arlington
Central Library, 1015 N Quincy St., Arlington.
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 Arlington Dept. of Libraries branch.
New in Arlington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Arlington Dept. of Libraries branches in Arlington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $74M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 87,741 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falls Church | Mary Riley Styles Public Library fine-free | 30.8 | 58 | A |
| Washington | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library fine-free | 9.5 | 64 | A |
| Alexandria | Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library fine-free | 7.9 | 58 | B |
| Arlington | Central Library fine-free | — | 61 | B+ |
| Bailey's Crossroads | Woodrow Wilson Community Library fine-free | — | 54 | — unincorporated |
| McLean | Dolley Madison Community Library fine-free | — | 54 | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Arlington Dept. of Libraries counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Arlington Dept. of Libraries serves 237,107 people in and around Arlington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Arlington.
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 Arlington
Does Arlington have a public library?
Yes. Arlington Dept. of Libraries, 1015 N Quincy St., serves 237,107 people in and around Arlington (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arlington Dept. of Libraries 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 Arlington’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 18.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Arlington’s civic life grade?
B+ Arlington is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #33 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 Arlington.
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.