Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Buhl’s library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Buhl Public serves 4,757 people in and around Buhl. Last year it lent 45K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
The short version on Buhl’s library
Buhl is a town of borrowers
Buhl Public lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 318 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 93% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Buhl’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Buhl is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #49 of 54 in Idaho. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Buhl’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$69K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Buhl
2.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Buhl’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Idaho 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 Buhl’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
45K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
28 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Buhl Public serves 4,757 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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.
Find it
Buhl Public, 215 Broadway N, Buhl.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Buhl? The Handbook →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 $3.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buhl cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $242K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $730K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $242K 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 1,283 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. Buhl Public counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Buhl
Does Buhl have a public library?
Yes. Buhl Public, 215 Broadway N, serves 4,757 people in and around Buhl (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Buhl Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Buhl’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 9.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Buhl’s civic life grade?
C− Buhl is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #49 of 54 in Idaho. 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 Buhl.
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.