Chickasaw County Courthouse · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Alta Vista’s library runs 172 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Alta Vista Public Library serves Alta Vista’s 401 residents. Last year it lent 1,981 print books and media and logged 1,506 visits.
The short version on Alta Vista’s library
More library cards than residents
726 cards for 401 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 ↓
A small-town library
Alta Vista Public Library serves 401 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Alta Vista Public Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 76% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Alta Vista’s civic life grade
Alta Vista 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 →
69 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alta Vista Public Library serves 401 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,981 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,074 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Find it
Alta Vista Public Library, 203 S White Ave, Alta Vista.
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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alta Vista cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $35K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $35K 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 726 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.
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 Alta Vista
Does Alta Vista have a public library?
Yes. Alta Vista Public Library, 203 S White Ave, serves Alta Vista’s 401 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alta Vista Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Alta Vista’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Alta Vista’s civic life grade?
Alta Vista 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 Alta Vista.
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.