Our Libraries

The Eastern Shore of Virginia has four public libraries, located in Cape Charles and Nassawadox in Northampton County and in Chincoteague and Parksley in Accomack County. The Eastern Shore of Virginia Regional Library and Heritage Center, in Parksley, is housed in a new building (2023). All four libraries are connected by “technical services,” and share a central catalog, interlibrary loans, and other services and activities.

To keep up with everything that is happening at our libraries, you can subscribe to this newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/iVNf8LU.

The monthly calendar of events can be found at https://espl.org/events/.

Here is a snapshot of the accomplishments of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Public Library System.

Facts & Figures

Some Astounding Statistics from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Regional Library and Heritage Center FY 23-24 Budget Presentation

(From the 2022 Fiscal Year report, July 1, 2021- June 30, 2022)

1. More than 83,000 people visited the Library!

2. An additional 848 residents received Lbrary cards, a 17% increase from the prior year.

11,645 individuals now have Library cards.

3. Library use has rebounded to near pre-COVID activity. Circulation increased 39% to 96,889, bucking the trend of many other Library systems’ that have decreased use.

4. Almost 30,000 new titles in E-books and audio-visual formats were added to the Library, in response to demand, giving patrons access to almost a quarter million titles.

5. Over 6,900 new print items were added putting the collection total for all 4 Library locations at 112,048 volumes!

112,048 Total Volumes

6. The ESPL staff provided support for almost 70 programs with an attendance of over 2,000 people; the new Library and Heritage Center will offer space for even more programs

7. The Library’s four locations offer 26 public access computers. Wireless internet is available in all four locations with outdoor access at Accomac and Nassawadox.