Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Bluefield’s library is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Bluefield’s library is the Tazewell County Public Library -- Bluefield Branch, a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which serves 39,763 people and lent 67K items last year.
Bluefield’s library, in brief
The Tazewell County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Tazewell County Public Library system records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 55% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 66% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 84% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 704 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; Bluefield’s library is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (39,763 people), not just the Bluefield branch.
What’s behind Bluefield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bluefield is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #40 of 88 in Virginia. Bluefield is graded on two of the three inputs. Bluefield’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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Bluefield
6.0 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.6%
6.6% of Bluefield’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 Bluefield’s residents live; 2022.
55% of borrowing is digital
67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
36,718 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tazewell County Public Library serves 39,763 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tazewell County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 9 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
Tazewell County Public Library -- Bluefield Branch, 108 Huffard Drive, Bluefield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Tazewell County Public Library branch.
New in Bluefield? 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 $1.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bluefield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 2,956 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Tazewell County Public Library -- Bluefield Branch is one branch of Tazewell County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 39,763 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 Bluefield
Does Bluefield have a public library?
Yes: Tazewell County Public Library -- Bluefield Branch, 108 Huffard Drive, is a branch of Tazewell County Public Library, which serves 39,763 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tazewell County Public Library 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 Bluefield’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bluefield’s civic life grade?
B Bluefield is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Bluefield.
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.