Photo: Paltron · CC BY-SA 4.0Imboden’s library is a branch of Lawrence County Library, which lends less per resident than 75% of systems its size
Imboden’s library is the Bobbie Jean Memorial Library, a branch of Lawrence County Library, which serves 16,318 people and lent 60K items last year.
What stands out about Bobbie Jean Memorial Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Imboden’s civic life grade
Imboden isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Lawrence County Library serves 16,318 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lawrence County Library system. The library’s own count.
46% of borrowing is digital
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
27,117 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Bobbie Jean Memorial Library, 102 Hendrix St., Imboden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lawrence County Library branch.
New in Imboden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Imboden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $754K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $754K 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 9,976 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bobbie Jean Memorial Library is one branch of Lawrence County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 16,318 people it serves.
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 Imboden
Does Imboden have a public library?
Yes: Bobbie Jean Memorial Library, 102 Hendrix St., is a branch of Lawrence County Library, which serves 16,318 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lawrence County 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 Imboden’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Imboden’s civic life grade?
Imboden isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Imboden.
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.