Photo: DanRVA · CC BY-SA 4.0Virginia Beach’s library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Virginia Beach Public Library serves Virginia Beach’s 458,028 residents from 10 locations. Last year it lent 2.4M books, movies and e-books and logged 912K visits.
The short version on Virginia Beach’s library
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Virginia Beach Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
Ten places to borrow in Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach Public Library runs ten locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 5,988 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 62 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Virginia Beach’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Virginia Beach is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #81 of 88 in Virginia State. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #245. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Virginia Beach’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($70K–$116K) 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 →
1,370 community nonprofits are registered in Virginia Beach
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (301 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 90 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.3%
5.3% of Virginia Beach’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical Virginia State 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 Virginia Beach’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Virginia Beach Public Library serves 458,028 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 86 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 515K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
899,119 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 76 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 Virginia Beach last year.
10 places to borrow in Virginia Beach
Central Library, 4100 Virginia Beach Boulevard, Virginia Beach.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Virginia Beach? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Virginia Beach
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Virginia Beach cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $21M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21M 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 80,109 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Virginia Beach ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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− |
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 Virginia Beach
Does Virginia Beach have a public library?
Yes. Virginia Beach Public Library, 4100 Virginia Beach Boulevard, serves Virginia Beach’s 458,028 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Virginia Beach’s civic life grade?
C− Virginia Beach is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #81 of 88 in Virginia State. 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 Virginia Beach.
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.