Photo: Corvokarasu at English Wikipedia · Public domainEmporia’s library is a branch of Meherrin Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
Emporia’s library is the Richardson Memorial Library, a branch of Meherrin Regional Library, which serves 32,521 people and lent 40K items last year.
The short version on Emporia’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, the Meherrin Regional Library system sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Virginia pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 67% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 221 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Meherrin Regional Library system lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
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; Emporia’s library is a branch of Meherrin Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (32,521 people), not just the Emporia branch.
What’s behind Emporia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Emporia is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #73 of 88 in Virginia. Emporia is graded on two of the three inputs. Emporia’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 ($39K–$65K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Emporia
4.6 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.7%
2.7% of Emporia’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 Emporia’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.
Meherrin Regional Library serves 32,521 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Meherrin Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,549 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Richardson Memorial Library, 100 Spring Street, Emporia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Meherrin Regional Library branch.
New in Emporia? 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 Emporia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $864K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $685K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $864K 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 1,396 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Richardson Memorial Library is one branch of Meherrin Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 32,521 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 Emporia
Does Emporia have a public library?
Yes: Richardson Memorial Library, 100 Spring Street, is a branch of Meherrin Regional Library, which serves 32,521 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meherrin Regional 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 Emporia’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Emporia’s civic life grade?
C− Emporia is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on civic life, #73 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 Emporia.
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.