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Gilman Public Library

Gilman’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Gilman Public Library serves Gilman’s 580 residents. Last year it lent 1,153 print books and media and logged 2,558 visits.

106 N Main, Gilman 50106 · about 23 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,153
2 per resident
Visits a year
2,558
4.4 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
45
about 1 a week · 928 attended
Cardholders
60%
349 cards
Open
23 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Gilman’s library

A small-town library

Gilman Public Library serves 580 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 23 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 ↓

Gifts and endowments pay a real share

26% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 69%. What your card is worth ↓

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 Gilman’s civic life grade

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

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Gilman’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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures

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

Visits per resident 4.4 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 61%
Borrowing per resident 2 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 76%
Kids’ borrowing 0.6 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 75%
Program attendance 1.6 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 78%
Programs offered 77.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 60%
Cardholders 60% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Gilman Public Library serves 580 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

A year at Gilman Public Library

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

2,558
visits
4.4 per resident
1,153
loans, print + digital
2 per resident
45
programs & events
928 attended
349
library cards
60% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week18people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers4,455 books & media on the shelves

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.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1,153 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

1,153loans
Books & media (adults) 72%Kids’ books & media 28%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 4,455 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

45 programs a year

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

Schools in Gilman →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–57
Ages 6–1115
Teens3
Adults13
All ages7
Little ones
0.1

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

Kids’ books
2

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

928
people at programs
45
programs
The building

Find it

Gilman Public Library, 106 N Main, Gilman.

23
hours open a week
1,035
square feet
4,455
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Gilman? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gilman 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

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 349 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Gilman

Does Gilman have a public library?

Yes. Gilman Public Library, 106 N Main, serves Gilman’s 580 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Gilman Public Library fine-free?

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

How busy is Gilman’s library?

It logged 4.4 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Gilman’s civic life grade?

Gilman 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 Gilman.

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.