Photo: self · CC BY 3.0Blackstone’s library is a branch of Nottoway County Library System, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Blackstone’s library is the Blackstone Library, a branch of Nottoway County Library System, which serves 15,604 people and lent 16K items last year.
The short version on Blackstone’s library
The Nottoway County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Nottoway County Library System records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Virginia pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 69% 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; Blackstone’s library is a branch of Nottoway County Library System, so they cover the whole system (15,604 people), not just the Blackstone branch.
What’s behind Blackstone’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blackstone is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #60 of 88 in Virginia. Blackstone is graded on two of the three inputs. Blackstone’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$68K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Blackstone
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.
6.4%
6.4% of Blackstone’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 Blackstone’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.
Nottoway County Library System serves 15,604 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Nottoway County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,694 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
Blackstone Library, 415 S. Main St., Blackstone.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Nottoway County Library System branch.
New in Blackstone? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blackstone cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $299K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $267K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $299K 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 838 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Blackstone Library is one branch of Nottoway County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 15,604 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 Blackstone
Does Blackstone have a public library?
Yes: Blackstone Library, 415 S. Main St., is a branch of Nottoway County Library System, which serves 15,604 people. The branch is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nottoway County Library System 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 Blackstone’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Blackstone’s civic life grade?
C+ Blackstone is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #60 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 Blackstone.
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.