Vestal's Gap Road and Lanesville Historic District · Photo: Cecouchman · CC BY-SA 3.0Sterling’s library is a branch of Loudoun County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Sterling’s library is the Sterling Library, a branch of Loudoun County Public Library, which serves 425,204 people and lent 5.4M items last year.
The short version on Sterling’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 72% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Loudoun County Public Library system logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Loudoun County Public Library system ran 9,989 programs last year, about 192 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 351,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The Sterling branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Sterling’s library is a branch of Loudoun County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (425,204 people), not just the Sterling branch.
What’s behind Sterling’s civic life grade
Sterling 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 Loudoun 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 Sterling
Sterling is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.5%
4.5% of Sterling’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 Sterling’s residents live; 2022.
About 86 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Loudoun County Public Library serves 425,204 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Loudoun County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,729,054 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sterling Library, 22330 S. Sterling Blvd Suite A117, Sterling.
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 Loudoun County Public Library branch.
New in Sterling? 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 $3.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sterling cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $24M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24M 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 66,431 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | Sterling Library fine-free | — | 70 | — unincorporated |
| Cascades | Cascades Library fine-free | — | 66 | — unincorporated |
| Ashburn | Ashburn Library fine-free | — | 66 | — unincorporated |
| Dulles Town Center | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Oak Grove | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Sugarland Run | None of its own | — | — | — 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. Sterling Library is one branch of Loudoun County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 425,204 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 Sterling
Does Sterling have a public library?
Yes: Sterling Library, 22330 S. Sterling Blvd Suite A117, is a branch of Loudoun County Public Library, which serves 425,204 people. The branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Loudoun 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 Sterling’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 12.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Sterling’s civic life grade?
Sterling 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 Loudoun County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sterling.
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.