Photo: Mbinebri / Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0Chincoteague’s library is a branch of Eastern Shore Public Library, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
Chincoteague’s library is the Chincoteague Island Library, a branch of Eastern Shore Public Library, which serves 45,544 people and lent 122K items last year.
What Chincoteague’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Eastern Shore Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 454 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.7 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; Chincoteague’s library is a branch of Eastern Shore Public Library, so they cover the whole system (45,544 people), not just the Chincoteague branch.
What’s behind Chincoteague’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chincoteague is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #3 of 88 in Virginia. Chincoteague is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Chincoteague’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Chincoteague
7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.4%
11.4% of Chincoteague’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 Chincoteague’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Eastern Shore Public Library serves 45,544 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eastern Shore Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
122K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,754 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, 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
Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main Street, Chincoteague.
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 Eastern Shore Public Library branch.
New in Chincoteague? 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 $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chincoteague cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 3,502 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Chincoteague Island Library is one branch of Eastern Shore Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 45,544 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 Chincoteague
Does Chincoteague have a public library?
Yes: Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main Street, is a branch of Eastern Shore Public Library, which serves 45,544 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eastern Shore 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 Chincoteague’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Chincoteague’s civic life grade?
A+ Chincoteague is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Chincoteague.
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.