Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0Bayard’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bayard Public Library serves Bayard’s 1,057 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 9,300 visits.
Bayard’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,247 cards for 1,057 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 ↓
Bayard uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bayard Public Library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Bayard Public Library serves 1,057 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 ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 130 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 12 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Bayard Public Library logs about 29 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 10 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Bayard’s civic life grade
Bayard 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 2 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 Bayard last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bayard Public Library serves 1,057 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
11K 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 0.6 time last year, on average.
Find it
Bayard Public Library, 315 Main St., Bayard.
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 $3.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bayard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $75K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $228K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $75K 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 1,247 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 Bayard
Does Bayard have a public library?
Yes. Bayard Public Library, 315 Main St., serves Bayard’s 1,057 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bayard Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bayard’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 10.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bayard’s civic life grade?
Bayard 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 Bayard.
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.