Bancroft’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bancroft Public Library serves Bancroft’s 1,352 residents. Last year it lent 6,702 print books and media and logged 4,000 visits.
What stands out about Bancroft’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bancroft’s civic life grade
Bancroft 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 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bancroft Public Library serves 1,352 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,702 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
23 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bancroft last year.
Find it
Bancroft Public Library, 208 E Ramsey St., Bancroft.
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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bancroft cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $76K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $110K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $76K 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 845 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 Bancroft
Does Bancroft have a public library?
Yes. Bancroft Public Library, 208 E Ramsey St., serves Bancroft’s 1,352 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bancroft Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bancroft’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 5.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bancroft’s civic life grade?
Bancroft 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 Bancroft.
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.