Pleasant Valley Ranger Station · Photo: US Forest Service · Public domainYoung’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Young Public Library serves 588 people in and around Young. Last year it lent 2,994 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,812 visits.
The short version on Young’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 94% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 25%. The building also logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 60% of loans, more per resident than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 40%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Young Public Library serves 588 people in and around Young, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Young’s civic life grade
Young 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Young Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Young Public Library serves 588 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
60% of borrowing is digital
2,994 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,799 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
37 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
Young Public Library, 124 S Midway Ave, Young.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Young Public Library branch.
New in Young? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Young cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $32K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $63K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $32K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 388 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Young Public Library serves 588 people in and around Young, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Young.
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 Young
Does Young have a public library?
Yes. Young Public Library, 124 S Midway Ave, serves 588 people in and around Young (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Young Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Young’s library?
It logged 13.3 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Young’s civic life grade?
Young 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 Young.
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.