Hale Bridge · Photo: Joseph Elliott · Public domainOlin’s library lends 8.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Olin Public Library serves Olin’s 1,020 residents. Last year it lent 8,814 print books and media and logged 5,997 visits.
Olin’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 79% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 55 items per child in Olin last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Olin Public Library serves 1,020 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 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
54% of the 162 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 48 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 Olin’s civic life grade
Olin 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 →
162 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 Olin last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Olin Public Library serves 1,020 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,814 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Find it
Olin Public Library, 301 Parkway St., Olin.
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 $3.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Olin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $137K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 682 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Olin Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- 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 Olin
Does Olin have a public library?
Yes. Olin Public Library, 301 Parkway St., serves Olin’s 1,020 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Olin Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Olin’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 8.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Olin’s civic life grade?
Olin 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 Olin.
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.