Photo: Bruce Emmerling · CC BY-SA 4.0Norfolk’s library lends 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Norfolk Public Library serves Norfolk’s 238,102 residents from 12 locations. Last year it lent 543K books, movies and e-books and logged 497K visits.
Norfolk’s library, in brief
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people Norfolk Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
12 places to borrow in Norfolk
Norfolk Public Library runs 12 locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Norfolk Public Library holds 669,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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.
What’s behind Norfolk’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Norfolk is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #76 of 88 in Virginia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #220. Norfolk’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 ($50K–$83K) 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 →
878 community nonprofits are registered in Norfolk
3.8 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 (237 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 39 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.4%
4.4% of Norfolk’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 Norfolk’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Norfolk Public Library serves 238,102 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
543K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 669K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
153,662 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 26 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Norfolk last year.
12 places to borrow in Norfolk
Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library, 111 West Ocean View Ave., Norfolk.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Norfolk? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Norfolk
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norfolk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 33,157 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Norfolk ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Main Library fine-free | 12.3 | 46 | C− |
| Chesapeake | Chesapeake Central Library fine-free | 5.4 | 60 | C− |
| Virginia Beach | Central Library fine-free | 5.2 | 60 | C− |
| Norfolk | Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library fine-free | 2.3 | 45 | C− |
| Hampton | Hampton Public Library fine-free | 1.0 | 56 | D |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Norfolk
Does Norfolk have a public library?
Yes. Norfolk Public Library, 111 West Ocean View Ave., serves Norfolk’s 238,102 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norfolk 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 Norfolk’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Norfolk’s civic life grade?
C− Norfolk is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #76 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 Norfolk.
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.