Blairstown’s library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Blairstown Public Library serves Blairstown’s 1,180 residents. Last year it lent 6,184 print books and media and logged 5,984 visits.
Blairstown’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,564 cards for 1,180 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
Blairstown Public Library serves 1,180 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 34 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
76% of the 105 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Blairstown’s civic life grade
Blairstown 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Blairstown Public Library serves 1,180 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. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,184 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
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 Blairstown last year.
Find it
Blairstown Public Library, 305 Locust St. NW Suite 2, Blairstown.
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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blairstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $84K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $109K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $84K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,564 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 Blairstown
Does Blairstown have a public library?
Yes. Blairstown Public Library, 305 Locust St. NW Suite 2, serves Blairstown’s 1,180 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Blairstown Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blairstown’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Blairstown’s civic life grade?
Blairstown 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 Blairstown.
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.