Photo: US Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified · Public domainChesapeake’s library logs 2.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Chesapeake Public Library serves Chesapeake’s 250,256 residents from 7 locations. Last year it lent 1.4M books, movies and e-books and logged 661K visits.
What Chesapeake’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 2,042 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 20 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Seven places to borrow in Chesapeake
Chesapeake Public Library runs seven locations, and 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.
What’s behind Chesapeake’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chesapeake is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #75 of 88 in Virginia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #204. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Chesapeake’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($72K–$119K) 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 →
832 community nonprofits are registered in Chesapeake
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (275 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 40 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.1%
5.1% of Chesapeake’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 Chesapeake’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Chesapeake Public Library serves 250,256 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 333K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
418,084 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 27 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 Chesapeake last year.
8 places to borrow in Chesapeake
Chesapeake Central Library, 298 Cedar Road, Chesapeake.
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 Chesapeake? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Chesapeake
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chesapeake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12M 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 119,509 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chesapeake ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Main Library fine-free | 12.3 | 46 | C− |
| Chesapeake | Chesapeake Central Library fine-free | 5.4 | 60 | C− |
| Virginia Beach | Central Library fine-free | 5.2 | 60 | C− |
| Suffolk | Morgan Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 54 | C− |
| Norfolk | Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library fine-free | 2.3 | 45 | C− |
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.
- 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 Chesapeake
Does Chesapeake have a public library?
Yes. Chesapeake Public Library, 298 Cedar Road, serves Chesapeake’s 250,256 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Chesapeake’s civic life grade?
C− Chesapeake is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #75 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 Chesapeake.
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.