Long Valley Finnish Church · Photo: PKOSKIE · CC BY-SA 3.0Donnelly’s library runs 236 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Donnelly Public Library District serves 3,195 people in and around Donnelly. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
The short version on Donnelly’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
60% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 40%. What your card is worth ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Donnelly Public Library District ran 755 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 236 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 21,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 79% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 755 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 37 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
2,892 cards for 3,195 people, or 91%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Donnelly Public Library District serves 3,195 people in and around Donnelly, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Donnelly’s civic life grade
Donnelly 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 →
About 11 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Donnelly Public Library District serves 3,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Donnelly Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,076 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Donnelly Public Library District, 150 E State St., Donnelly.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Donnelly Public Library District branch.
New in Donnelly? 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 $1.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Donnelly cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $242K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $419K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $242K 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 2,892 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Donnelly Public Library District serves 3,195 people in and around Donnelly, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Donnelly.
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 Donnelly
Does Donnelly have a public library?
Yes. Donnelly Public Library District, 150 E State St., serves 3,195 people in and around Donnelly (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Donnelly Public Library District 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 Donnelly’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Donnelly’s civic life grade?
Donnelly 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 Donnelly.
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.