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VAVirginia rankings

Towns that borrow the most from their library in Virginia

Ranked by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. 24 towns with 2,500+ residents.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024

Falls Church 1 Falls Church 30.8 per resident Mary Riley Styles Public Library Bristol 2 Bristol 16.4 per resident Bristol Public Library Clifton Forge 3 Clifton Forge 14.1 per resident Clifton Forge Public Library
#TownLoans per residentLibraryLoans a year
1 Falls Church Falls Church14,710 people 30.8 per resident Mary Riley Styles Public Library 449,624
2 Bristol Bristol16,849 people 16.4 per resident Bristol Public Library 283,071
3 Clifton Forge Clifton Forge3,447 people 14.1 per resident Clifton Forge Public Library 48,400
4 Portsmouth Portsmouth97,190 people 12.3 per resident Portsmouth Public Library 1,199,081
5 Poquoson Poquoson12,639 people 11.2 per resident Poquoson Public Library 139,558
6 Pearisburg Pearisburg2,860 people 10.7 per resident Pearisburg Public Library 27,988
7 Staunton Staunton25,948 people 10.6 per resident Staunton Public Library 275,388
8 Waynesboro Waynesboro22,841 people 9.6 per resident Waynesboro Public Library 213,987
9 Alexandria Alexandria156,976 people 7.9 per resident Alexandria Library 1,255,816
10 Salem Salem25,618 people 6.9 per resident Salem Public Library 173,538
11 Colonial Heights Colonial Heights18,352 people 6.9 per resident Colonial Heights Public Library 125,241
12 Radford Radford16,726 people 6.5 per resident Radford Public Library 109,288
13 Chesapeake Chesapeake252,583 people 5.4 per resident Chesapeake Public Library 1,361,908
14 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach456,349 people 5.2 per resident Virginia Beach Public Library 2,365,846
15 Richmond Richmond229,359 people 4.4 per resident Richmond Public Library 988,491
16 Lynchburg79,497 people 4.0 per resident Lynchburg Public Library 324,027
17 Suffolk Suffolk98,796 people 3.9 per resident Suffolk Public Library System 375,407
18 Manassas Park Manassas Park16,798 people 3.7 per resident Manassas Park City Library 64,258
19 Newport News Newport News184,216 people 2.8 per resident Newport News Public Library System 525,449
20 Petersburg Petersburg33,537 people 2.8 per resident Petersburg Public Library 91,540
21 Roanoke Roanoke98,355 people 2.5 per resident Roanoke City Public Library 252,565
22 Norfolk Norfolk233,596 people 2.3 per resident Norfolk Public Library 542,901
23 Danville Danville42,214 people 2.2 per resident Danville Public Library 95,654
24 Hampton Hampton137,557 people 1.0 per resident Hampton Public Library 129,965

How this ranking works

We rank every town by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. The highest figure ranks #1. Each library reports its own yearly numbers to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (fiscal year 2024), and each town’s Library page shows how it compares with libraries of a similar size nationwide.

A town is ranked only when its library system serves that town alone, and the library’s own count of the people it serves is within 20% of the town’s population. Towns served by a county or regional system, or sharing a library with a neighbor, can’t be credited with the numbers, so they aren’t ranked. Libraries that didn’t respond to the survey aren’t ranked either. Vacation towns can rank high because summer residents and visitors use the library too.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Libraries: IMLS Public Libraries Survey. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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