Farmers' State Bank · Photo: Patrick B Dillon · CC BY-SA 4.0Volga’s library runs 224 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Volga Public Library serves Volga’s 268 residents. Last year it lent 2,066 print books and media and logged 1,203 visits.
What Volga’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Volga Public Library ran 60 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 224 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
40% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 53%. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone in Volga has a card
264 cards for 268 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Volga Public Library serves 268 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 19 hours a week
Volga Public Library keeps short hours: about 19 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.
What’s behind Volga’s civic life grade
Volga 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 →
60 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Volga Public Library serves 268 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
2,066 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 5,381 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Find it
Volga Public Library, 601 Washington St., Volga.
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 $2.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Volga cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $16K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $48K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16K 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 264 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. Volga 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 Volga
Does Volga have a public library?
Yes. Volga Public Library, 601 Washington St., serves Volga’s 268 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Volga Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Volga’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 7.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Volga’s civic life grade?
Volga 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 Volga.
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.