Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Griswold’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Griswold Public Library serves Griswold’s 1,154 residents. Last year it lent 4,550 print books and media and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Griswold’s library
A small-town library
Griswold Public Library serves 1,154 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 31 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 ↓
People come to Griswold Public Library a lot
Griswold Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 3.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Griswold has a card
1,041 cards for 1,154 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Griswold Public Library logs about 14 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 11 public computers. That’s 4.4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
67% of the 126 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 29 were for children. 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 Griswold’s civic life grade
Griswold 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 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Griswold Public Library serves 1,154 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
4,550 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
126 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 Griswold last year.
Find it
Griswold Public Library, 505 Main St., Griswold.
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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Griswold cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $88K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $100K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $88K 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 1,041 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 Griswold
Does Griswold have a public library?
Yes. Griswold Public Library, 505 Main St., serves Griswold’s 1,154 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Griswold Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Griswold’s library?
It logged 11.4 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Griswold’s civic life grade?
Griswold 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 Griswold.
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.