Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Kenbridge’s library is a branch of Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc, which lends less per resident than 79% of systems its size
Kenbridge’s library is the Ripberger Public Library, a branch of Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc, which serves 11,848 people and lent 21K items last year.
What stands out about Ripberger Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Kenbridge’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kenbridge is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. Kenbridge is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Kenbridge’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc spends $20 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Kenbridge
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.8%
4.8% of Kenbridge’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 Kenbridge’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc serves 11,848 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 2 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
Ripberger Public Library, 117 South Broad St., Kenbridge.
Good at every Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc branch.
New in Kenbridge? 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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kenbridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $242K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $385K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $242K 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 486 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Ripberger Public Library is one branch of Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 11,848 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 Kenbridge
Does Kenbridge have a public library?
Yes: Ripberger Public Library, 117 South Broad St., is a branch of Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc, which serves 11,848 people. The branch is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lunenburg County Public Library System, Inc fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Kenbridge’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Kenbridge’s civic life grade?
C− Kenbridge is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Kenbridge.
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.