Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Central Rappahannock Regional Library is a multi-jurisdictional public library system based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving a legal service area of 347,033 residents through 10 library buildings. Among the 93 profiled systems in Virginia, it ranks fourth for physical checkouts, fifth for total visits, sixth for population served and ninth for operating spending.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 86% more physical checkouts per resident and 48% more public computers per resident.
Central Rappahannock Regional against the 122 systems of its size class
Central Rappahannock Regional since FY 2019
Visits were 17% below the FY 2019 count of 1.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 40% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Central Rappahannock Regional programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 68% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 21 people each.
Central Rappahannock Regional in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,108,995
- Physical checkouts
- 2,283,688
- …of children's materials
- 1,086,883
- Electronic checkouts
- 629,128
- …of e-books
- 262,189
- …of e-audio
- 283,477
- Registered users
- 31,744
- Program sessions
- 4,501
- Program attendance
- 95,015
- Print volumes
- 416,811
- Audio items (physical)
- 20,165
- Video items (physical)
- 28,393
- Public computers
- 317
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 24,284
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 149.0
- Operating spending
- $13.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.1 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Central Rappahannock Regional gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $13.3 million, or $38.44 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 93 profiled systems in Virginia. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Central Rappahannock Regional, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 130,961 square feet in total, 0.38 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Fredericksburg Branch at 37,000 square feet; the smallest is Fried Center at 593. The longest hours, 61 a week, are shared by three buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Branch | Branch | Colonial Beach | 32 | 4,720 |
| Fredericksburg Branch | Branch | Fredericksburg | 61 | 37,000 |
| Fried Center | Branch | Stafford | 24 | 593 |
| Howell Branch | Branch | Stafford | 61 | 30,000 |
| Montross Branch | Branch | Montross | 32 | 1,485 |
| Newton Branch | Branch | Hague | 32 | 1,063 |
| Porter Branch | Branch | Stafford | 61 | 23,000 |
| Salem Church Branch | Branch | Fredericksburg | 56 | 26,000 |
| Snow Branch | Branch | Spotsylvania | 56 | 5,000 |
| Towne Centre Branch | Branch | Fredericksburg | 52 | 2,100 |
Multi-jurisdictional libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, two record more visits per resident than this one. None of them matches this system's checkouts per resident.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville-Madison County Public Library | Huntsville, AL | 403,565 | 3.25 | 6.29 | $20.26 |
| Mobile Public Library | Mobile, AL | 371,984 | 2.09 | 3.12 | $30.22 |
| Sequoyah Regional Library System | Canton, GA | 361,084 | 1.14 | 2.36 | $15.73 |
| Central Arkansas Library System | Little Rock, AR | 344,553 | 3.53 | 3.46 | $79.19 |
| First Regional Library | Hernando, MS | 321,878 | 1.81 | 2.49 | $16.89 |
| Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative | Niceville, FL | 311,554 | 1.26 | 1.80 | $17.83 |
Nearest in size within Virginia
- Henrico County Public Library · Henrico · 336,226 residents
- Chesterfield County Public Library · Chesterfield · 369,943 residents
- Loudoun County Public Library · Leesburg · 425,204 residents
- Virginia Beach Public Library · Virginia Beach · 458,028 residents