Rake’s library lends 30 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Rake Public Library serves Rake’s 256 residents. Last year it lent 7,583 print books and media and logged 3,766 visits.
The short version on Rake’s library
More library cards than residents
475 cards for 256 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 ↓
Rake uses its library more than almost any town its size
Rake Public Library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 30 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Rake Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Rake Public Library serves 256 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
A place to get online
Rake Public Library logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 4.3 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Rake’s civic life grade
Rake 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
7,583 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,275 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Rake Public Library serves 256 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Find it
Rake Public Library, 123 N Main St., Rake.
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 $4.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $132K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K 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 475 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 Rake
Does Rake have a public library?
Yes. Rake Public Library, 123 N Main St., serves Rake’s 256 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rake Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rake’s library?
It logged 14.7 visits and lent 29.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rake’s civic life grade?
Rake 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 Rake.
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.