Squaw Creek Bridge 2 · Photo: KatelynFoster22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Stanhope’s library runs 312 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Stanhope Public Library serves Stanhope’s 452 residents. Last year it lent 1,638 print books and media and logged 2,454 visits.
What Stanhope’s library is like
More library cards than residents
566 cards for 452 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 ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Stanhope Public Library ran 141 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 312 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Stanhope Public Library serves 452 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 23 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 ↓
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 Stanhope’s civic life grade
Stanhope 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 →
141 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 Stanhope last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stanhope Public Library serves 452 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,638 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 8,489 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Stanhope Public Library, 600 Main St., Stanhope.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stanhope cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $45K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $34K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45K 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 566 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. Stanhope 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 Stanhope
Does Stanhope have a public library?
Yes. Stanhope Public Library, 600 Main St., serves Stanhope’s 452 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stanhope Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Stanhope’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 3.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stanhope’s civic life grade?
Stanhope 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 Stanhope.
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.