Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Lime Springs’ library runs 409 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Lime Springs Public Library serves Lime Springs’s 1,236 residents. Last year it lent 3,654 print books and media and logged 4,482 visits.
What Lime Springs’s library is like
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Lime Springs Public Library ran 505 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 409 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,871 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Lime Springs Public Library serves 1,236 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 39 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 ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 505 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 165 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 Lime Springs’ civic life grade
Lime Springs 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 →
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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 Lime Springs last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lime Springs Public Library serves 1,236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,654 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,520 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Find it
Lime Springs Public Library, 112 W Main St., Lime Springs.
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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lime Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $65K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $98K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $65K 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 347 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 Lime Springs
Does Lime Springs have a public library?
Yes. Lime Springs Public Library, 112 W Main St., serves Lime Springs’ 1,236 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lime Springs Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lime Springs’ library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lime Springs’ civic life grade?
Lime Springs 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 Lime Springs.
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.