Photo: Warsawvirginia · CC BY-SA 4.0Warsaw’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Richmond County Public Library serves 8,947 people in and around Warsaw. Last year it lent 8,347 books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Warsaw’s library
Richmond County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Richmond County Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 86% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 87% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Virginia pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 72% 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; Richmond County Public Library serves 8,947 people in and around Warsaw, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Warsaw’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Warsaw is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Warsaw is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Warsaw
3.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Warsaw’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 Warsaw’s residents live; 2022.
54% of borrowing is digital
8,347 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,491 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Richmond County Public Library serves 8,947 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Richmond County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
76 programs a year
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
Richmond County Public Library, 52 Campus Drive, Warsaw.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Richmond County Public Library branch.
New in Warsaw? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Warsaw cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $157K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 4,404 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Richmond County Public Library serves 8,947 people in and around Warsaw, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Warsaw.
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 Warsaw
Does Warsaw have a public library?
Yes. Richmond County Public Library, 52 Campus Drive, serves 8,947 people in and around Warsaw (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richmond 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 Warsaw’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Warsaw’s civic life grade?
B+ Warsaw is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Warsaw.
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.