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Truro Public Library

Truro’s library lends 3.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Truro Public Library serves Truro’s 626 residents. Last year it lent 2,140 print books and media and logged 2,213 visits.

114 E Center, Truro 50257 · about 20 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
2,140
3.4 per resident
Visits a year
2,213
3.5 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
42
about 1 a week · 551 attended
Cardholders
69%
429 cards
Open
20 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Truro’s library

A small-town library

Truro Public Library serves 626 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

Truro 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 Truro’s civic life grade

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

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

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures

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

Visits per resident 3.5 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.4 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 55%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 58%
Program attendance 0.9 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 59%
Programs offered 67.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 55%
Cardholders 69% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 62%
Spending $41 per resident · typical $54Lower than 67%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Truro Public Library serves 626 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 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

2,213
visits
3.5 per resident
2,140
loans, print + digital
3.4 per resident
42
programs & events
551 attended
429
library cards
69% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week11people at a program
Every week43visits
1 staff (full-time equivalent)1 public computers10K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

2,140 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

2,140loans
Books & media (adults) 69%Kids’ books & media 31%
How hard the shelves work
0.2×

Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

42 programs a year

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

Schools in Truro →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–516
Ages 6–119
Teens0
Adults17
All ages0
Little ones
0.3

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

Kids’ books
4

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Truro last year.

551
people at programs
42
programs
The building

Find it

Truro Public Library, 114 E Center, Truro.

20
hours open a week
1,652
square feet
10K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Truro? 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 $1.52 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Truro 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
$41 per resident a year

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

Local taxes 89%State 8%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 429 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 Truro

Does Truro have a public library?

Yes. Truro Public Library, 114 E Center, serves Truro’s 626 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Truro Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Truro’s library?

It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Truro’s civic life grade?

Truro 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 Truro.

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.