Photo: User:akampfer · CC BY-SA 3.0Carey’s library runs 89 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Little Wood River District serves 1,182 people in and around Carey. Last year it lent 1,227 books, movies and e-books and logged 450 visits.
Carey’s library, in brief
Little Wood River District is used less than most libraries its size
Little Wood River District records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 105 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Little Wood River District serves 1,182 people in and around Carey, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Carey’s civic life grade
Carey 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Little Wood River District serves 1,182 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Little Wood River District
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Little Wood River District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,227 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Little Wood River District, 16 Panther Ave, Carey.
No late fees. Good at every Little Wood River District branch.
New in Carey? The Handbook →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 Carey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $46K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 403 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. Little Wood River District counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Little Wood River District serves 1,182 people in and around Carey, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Carey.
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 Carey
Does Carey have a public library?
Yes. Little Wood River District, 16 Panther Ave, serves 1,182 people in and around Carey (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Little Wood River District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Carey’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Carey’s civic life grade?
Carey 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 Carey.
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.