Photo: Tim Engleman from Saxonburg, PA · CC BY-SA 2.0Lake City’s library is a branch of Hinsdale Library District/Lake City, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Lake City’s library is the Lake City/Hinsdale County Library District, a branch of Hinsdale Library District/Lake City, which serves 772 people and lent 2,900 items last year.
What Lake City’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,523 cards for 772 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
96% of the 57 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Lake City branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Hinsdale Library District/Lake City system spends $171 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Lake City’s library is a branch of Hinsdale Library District/Lake City, so they cover the whole system (772 people), not just the Lake City branch; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Lake City’s civic life grade
Lake City 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 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hinsdale Library District/Lake City serves 772 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hinsdale Library District/Lake City system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,900 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Lake City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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
Lake City/Hinsdale County Library District, 206 N Silver Street, Lake City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Hinsdale Library District/Lake City branch.
New in Lake City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $56K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 1,523 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Lake City/Hinsdale County Library District is one branch of Hinsdale Library District/Lake City, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 772 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 Lake City
Does Lake City have a public library?
Yes: Lake City/Hinsdale County Library District, 206 N Silver Street, is a branch of Hinsdale Library District/Lake City, which serves 772 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hinsdale Library District/Lake City fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lake City’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lake City’s civic life grade?
Lake City 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 Lake City.
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.