Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Dexter’s library lends 7.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Dexter Public Library serves Dexter’s 1,538 residents. Last year it lent 12K print books and media and logged 1,530 visits.
The short version on Dexter’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 78% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 92%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Dexter Public Library serves 1,538 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 20 hours a week
Dexter Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 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 Dexter’s civic life grade
Dexter 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 2 of 4 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dexter Public Library serves 1,538 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
12K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Dexter last year.
Find it
Dexter Public Library, 724 Marshall, Dexter.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dexter cardholder borrows.
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 654 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Dexter
Does Dexter have a public library?
Yes. Dexter Public Library, 724 Marshall, serves Dexter’s 1,538 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dexter Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dexter’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 7.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dexter’s civic life grade?
Dexter 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 Dexter.
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.