Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Bristol’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Bristol Public Library serves Bristol’s 17,231 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 283K books, movies and e-books and logged 198K visits.
What Bristol’s library is like
Bristol has the most-used library in Virginia
Out of 24 Virginia towns with a library of their own, Bristol comes first for visits per resident. It’s also #2 for borrowing and #2 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Bristol uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bristol Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 29% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 53% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in Bristol last year. Kids & programs ↓
Bristol invests in its library
Bristol Public Library spends $131 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Bristol’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bristol is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #28 of 88 in Virginia. Library visits hold 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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Bristol
4.2 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 (27 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Bristol’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 Bristol’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 48 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bristol Public Library serves 17,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
283K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 196K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
83,240 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bristol last year.
2 places to borrow in Bristol
Bristol Public Library, 701 Goode Street, Bristol.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bristol? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Bristol
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bristol cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 4,519 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Bristol
Does Bristol have a public library?
Yes. Bristol Public Library, 701 Goode Street, serves Bristol’s 17,231 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bristol 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 Bristol’s library?
It logged 11.5 visits and lent 16.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bristol’s civic life grade?
B+ Bristol is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Bristol.
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.