Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0King George’s library is a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 60% of systems its size
King George’s library is the L. E. Smoot Memorial Library, a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, which serves 27,021 people and lent 106K items last year.
What King George’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Virginia pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 78% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 323 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 113 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 53% of similar-size libraries. 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; King George’s library is a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (27,021 people), not just the King George branch.
What’s behind King George’s civic life grade
King George isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in King George
King George is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.3%
6.3% of King George’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 King George’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library serves 27,021 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
106K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,030 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
L. E. Smoot Memorial Library, 9533 Kings Highway, King George.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library branch.
New in King George? 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average King George cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $957K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $957K 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 2,485 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. L. E. Smoot Memorial Library is one branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 27,021 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 King George
Does King George have a public library?
Yes: L. E. Smoot Memorial Library, 9533 Kings Highway, is a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, which serves 27,021 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial 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 King George’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is King George’s civic life grade?
King George isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Lewis Egerton Smoot Memorial Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in King George.
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.