#1Bristol
Bristol city · 16,418 peopleVisits per resident a year·Bristol Public Library, FY 2024
Bristol, #1 on this list · Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Virginia rankings · Libraries
Towns with the most-used libraries in Virginia
Bristol has the most-used library of Virginia’s 24 towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own: 11.5 visits per resident a year at Bristol Public Library (IMLS Public Libraries Survey). The typical library here counts 3.1.
IMLS Public Libraries Survey: a year’s visits divided by the people the library serves. Only a library that serves one town (80–125% of its population) and reported its own count is ranked; IMLS estimates never are. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#111.5visits
#2Falls Church
Falls Church city · 15,159 peopleVisits per resident a year·Mary Riley Styles Public Library, FY 2024
#3Colonial Heights
Colonial Heights city · 18,738 peopleVisits per resident a year·Colonial Heights Public Library, FY 2024
All 24 towns
Visits per resident, highest first.
24 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownVisits per residentPeople servedLibrary
3Colonial HeightsColonial Heights city · 18,738 people18,071Colonial Heights Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
18Virginia BeachVirginia Beach city · 453,737 people458,028Virginia Beach Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
21Newport NewsNewport News city · 183,230 people185,082Newport News Public Library SystemIMLS, FY 2024
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which Virginia town has the most-used library?
Bristol (Bristol city): Bristol Public Library counts 11.5 visits per resident a year. Falls Church (11.5) and Colonial Heights (7.6) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By library visits per resident in the IMLS Public Libraries Survey: the visits a town’s own library reported, divided by the population it serves, highest first. It is the same rank as on each town’s Library & civic life page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own that reported its visits (24 in Virginia). Towns served by a county or regional system share its figure and aren’t ranked one by one; figures IMLS estimated for a library that didn’t report aren’t ranked; in states with strong townships the township, not a village inside it, is ranked. Every town is on the Virginia page.
Go deeper
All Virginia rankings →More Virginia lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
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