Photo: Irving Rusinow · Public domainIrwin’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lied Irwin Public Library serves Irwin’s 471 residents. Last year it lent 608 print books and media and logged 827 visits.
Irwin’s library, in brief
Open only about 8 hours a week
Lied Irwin Public Library keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Lied Irwin Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Lied Irwin Public Library records 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $29 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Lied Irwin Public Library serves 471 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
32% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 68%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 21% of the people Lied Irwin Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Irwin’s civic life grade
Irwin 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 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lied Irwin Public Library serves 471 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
608 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,298 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
23 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.
Find it
Lied Irwin Public Library, 509 Ann, Irwin.
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 $1.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Irwin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $14K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $14K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 97 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 Irwin
Does Irwin have a public library?
Yes. Lied Irwin Public Library, 509 Ann, serves Irwin’s 471 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lied Irwin Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Irwin’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Irwin’s civic life grade?
Irwin 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 Irwin.
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.