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Quimby Public Library

Quimby’s library runs 150 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size

Quimby Public Library serves Quimby’s 293 residents. Last year it lent 1,428 print books and media and logged 1,559 visits.

120 N Main, Quimby 51049 · about 20 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,428
4.9 per resident
Visits a year
1,559
5.3 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
44
about 1 a week · 242 attended
Cardholders
100%
425 cards
Open
20 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Quimby’s library

More library cards than residents

425 cards for 293 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓

A small-town library

Quimby Public Library serves 293 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 ↓

Open only about 20 hours a week

Quimby Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

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 Quimby’s civic life grade

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

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

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures

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

Visits per resident 5.3 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 69%
Borrowing per resident 4.9 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 0.5 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 79%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 56%
Programs offered 150.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 82%
Cardholders 100% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 89%
Spending $85 per resident · typical $54Higher than 76%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Quimby Public Library serves 293 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

1,559
visits
5.3 per resident
1,428
loans, print + digital
4.9 per resident
44
programs & events
242 attended
425
library cards
100% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week5people at a program
Every day0Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)3 public computers7,371 books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1,428 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

1,428loans
Books & media (adults) 91%Kids’ books & media 9%
How hard the shelves work
0.2×

Each of the 7,371 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

44 programs a year

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

Schools in Quimby →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–511
Ages 6–111
Teens0
Adults32
All ages0
Little ones
0.2

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

135
kids’ books & media borrowed
242
people at programs
44
programs
The building

Find it

Quimby Public Library, 120 N Main, Quimby.

20
hours open a week
1,760
square feet
7,371
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Quimby? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.04 worth

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

Who pays for it
$85 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.

Local taxes 94%State 5%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 425 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Quimby

Does Quimby have a public library?

Yes. Quimby Public Library, 120 N Main, serves Quimby’s 293 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Quimby Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Quimby’s library?

It logged 5.3 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Quimby’s civic life grade?

Quimby 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 Quimby.

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.