Building at 247 Pleasant Avenue · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0Challis’ library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Challis Public serves 918 people in and around Challis. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,570 visits.
Challis’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,165 cards for 918 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 ↓
Federal money pays a real share
39% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 38% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Challis is a town of borrowers
Challis Public lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 152 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 48 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Challis’ civic life grade
Challis 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Challis Public serves 918 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 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
Challis Public, 531 Main St., Challis.
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 $2.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Challis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $67K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $181K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $67K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,165 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Challis
Does Challis have a public library?
Yes. Challis Public, 531 Main St., serves 918 people in and around Challis (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Challis Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Challis’ library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 11.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Challis’ civic life grade?
Challis 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 Challis.
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.