Boyden’s library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Boyden Public Library serves Boyden’s 858 residents. Last year it lent 14K print books and media and logged 15K visits.
What Boyden’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,330 cards for 858 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 ↓
Boyden uses its library more than almost any town its size
Boyden Public Library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 36 items per child in Boyden last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Boyden Public Library serves 858 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 22 hours a week
Boyden Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Boyden’s civic life grade
Boyden 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Boyden Public Library serves 858 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
14K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
120 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Boyden last year.
Find it
Boyden Public Library, 609 Webb St., Boyden.
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 $3.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boyden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $71K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $230K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $71K 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 1,330 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Boyden’s 14,527 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Boyden
Does Boyden have a public library?
Yes. Boyden Public Library, 609 Webb St., serves Boyden’s 858 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boyden Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Boyden’s library?
It logged 16.9 visits and lent 16.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Boyden’s civic life grade?
Boyden 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 Boyden.
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.