Swaledale’s library runs 333 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Swaledale Public Library serves Swaledale’s 231 residents. Last year it lent 408 print books and media and logged 1,727 visits.
What Swaledale’s library is like
More library cards than residents
373 cards for 231 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 ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 82% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 21%. The building also logs about 8 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Swaledale Public Library ran 77 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 333 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Swaledale Public Library serves 231 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 ↓
A place to get online
Swaledale Public Library logs about 8 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 4 public computers. That’s 13 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 Swaledale’s civic life grade
Swaledale 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 →
77 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Swaledale Public Library serves 231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Swaledale Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
408 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,266 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Swaledale Public Library, 504 Main St., Swaledale.
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 Swaledale cardholder borrows.
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 373 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Swaledale
Does Swaledale have a public library?
Yes. Swaledale Public Library, 504 Main St., serves Swaledale’s 231 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Swaledale Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Swaledale’s library?
It logged 7.5 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Swaledale’s civic life grade?
Swaledale 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 Swaledale.
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.