Whittier Friends Meeting House · Photo: ArtisticAbode · CC BY-SA 3.0Springville’s library logs 9.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Springville Memorial Library serves Springville’s 1,633 residents. Last year it lent 6,216 print books and media and logged 16K visits.
Springville’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,634 cards for 1,633 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
Springville Memorial Library serves 1,633 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 41 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 ↓
People come to Springville Memorial Library a lot
Springville Memorial Library logs 9.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is closer to typical, at 3.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Springville Memorial Library holds 23,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Springville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Springville is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. Springville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Springville
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Springville’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Springville’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Springville Memorial Library serves 1,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
6,216 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
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 Springville last year.
Find it
Springville Memorial Library, 264 Broadway St., Springville.
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 $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $107K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $132K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $107K 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 1,634 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 Springville
Does Springville have a public library?
Yes. Springville Memorial Library, 264 Broadway St., serves Springville’s 1,633 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Springville Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Springville’s library?
It logged 9.5 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Springville’s civic life grade?
A Springville is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Springville.
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.