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Farnhamville Public Library

Farnhamville’s library logs 4.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Farnhamville Public Library serves Farnhamville’s 600 residents. Last year it lent 1,831 print books and media and logged 2,940 visits.

240 Hardin, Farnhamville 50538 · about 18 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,831
3.1 per resident
Visits a year
2,940
4.9 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
53
about 1 a week · 998 attended
Cardholders
100%
671 cards
Open
18 hrs
a week
In brief

Farnhamville’s library, in brief

More library cards than residents

671 cards for 600 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 ↓

Programs are almost all for children

87% of the 53 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 13 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

Open only about 18 hours a week

Farnhamville Public Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

A small-town library

Farnhamville Public Library serves 600 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 ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Farnhamville’s civic life grade

Farnhamville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Farnhamville’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.9 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 66%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 76%
Program attendance 1.7 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 79%
Programs offered 88.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 64%
Cardholders 100% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 82%
Spending $37 per resident · typical $54Lower than 72%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Farnhamville Public Library serves 600 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

2,940
visits
4.9 per resident
1,831
loans, print + digital
3.1 per resident
53
programs & events
998 attended
671
library cards
100% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week19people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
1 public computers7,587 books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1,831 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

1,831loans
Books & media (adults) 82%Kids’ books & media 18%
How hard the shelves work
0.2×

Each of the 7,587 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

53 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Farnhamville →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–513
Ages 6–1133
Teens0
Adults6
All ages1
Little ones
0.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
3

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Farnhamville last year.

998
people at programs
53
programs
The building

Find it

Farnhamville Public Library, 240 Hardin, Farnhamville.

18
hours open a week
2,160
square feet
7,587
books & media

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.89 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Farnhamville cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$37 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.

Local taxes 95%State 4%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $42K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 671 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Farnhamville

Does Farnhamville have a public library?

Yes. Farnhamville Public Library, 240 Hardin, serves Farnhamville’s 600 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Farnhamville Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Farnhamville’s library?

It logged 4.9 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Farnhamville’s civic life grade?

Farnhamville 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 Farnhamville.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.