Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0Emmett’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Emmett Public serves 8,490 people in and around Emmett. Last year it lent 131K books, movies and e-books and logged 47K visits.
The short version on Emmett’s library
More library cards than residents
9,641 cards for 8,490 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Emmett Public spends $28 per resident, less than 73% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still busier than 87% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Emmett is a town of borrowers
Emmett Public lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 87 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Emmett’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Emmett is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #10 of 54 in Idaho. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Emmett
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.2%
13.2% of Emmett’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 Emmett’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
131K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 68K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
29,188 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Emmett Public serves 8,490 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 61 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Emmett Public, 275 S Hayes Ave, Emmett.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Emmett? 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 $8.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Emmett cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $240K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $240K 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 9,641 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 Emmett
Does Emmett have a public library?
Yes. Emmett Public, 275 S Hayes Ave, serves 8,490 people in and around Emmett (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Emmett 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 Emmett’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 15.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Emmett’s civic life grade?
A− Emmett is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Emmett.
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.