Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0Baxter’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Baxter Public Library serves Baxter’s 1,695 residents. Last year it lent 7,270 print books and media and logged 17K visits.
The short version on Baxter’s library
Busy on a lean budget
Baxter Public Library spends $33 per resident, less than 77% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 73% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 219 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 80% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 80% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Baxter Public Library serves 1,695 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 hours a week. 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 ↓
People come to Baxter Public Library a lot
Baxter Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Baxter’s civic life grade
Baxter 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 →
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Baxter last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Baxter Public Library serves 1,695 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,270 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Find it
Baxter Public Library, 202 E State St., Baxter.
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 $2.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Baxter cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $55K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $138K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $55K 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 1,474 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 Baxter
Does Baxter have a public library?
Yes. Baxter Public Library, 202 E State St., serves Baxter’s 1,695 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Baxter Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Baxter’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 4.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Baxter’s civic life grade?
Baxter 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 Baxter.
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.