Photo: Carmenshields · CC BY 3.0Madison Heights’ library is a branch of Amherst County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 58% of systems its size
Madison Heights’s library is the Madison Heights Library, a branch of Amherst County Public Library, which serves 31,491 people and lent 162K items last year.
The short version on Madison Heights’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Amherst County Public Library system offered 168 programs last year, 5.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 168 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Virginia pays a big share
21% of the budget comes from the state, and 79% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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; Madison Heights’s library is a branch of Amherst County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (31,491 people), not just the Madison Heights branch.
What’s behind Madison Heights’ civic life grade
Madison Heights 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 Amherst County Public 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 Madison Heights
Madison Heights is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.7%
7.7% of Madison Heights’ 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 Madison Heights’ residents live; 2022.
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.
Amherst County Public Library serves 31,491 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Amherst County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
162K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,774 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
Madison Heights Library, 200 River James Shopping Center, Madison Heights.
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 Amherst County Public Library branch.
New in Madison Heights? 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 $2.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Madison Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 1,106 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynchburg | Lynchburg Public Library | 4.0 | 52 | B− |
| Madison Heights | Madison Heights Library fine-free | — | 46 | — unincorporated |
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.
- System-wide. Madison Heights Library is one branch of Amherst County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 31,491 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 Madison Heights
Does Madison Heights have a public library?
Yes: Madison Heights Library, 200 River James Shopping Center, is a branch of Amherst County Public Library, which serves 31,491 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Amherst County 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 Madison Heights’ library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Madison Heights’ civic life grade?
Madison Heights 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 Amherst County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Madison Heights.
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.