Pleasant View School · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0Filer’s library runs 118 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Filer Public serves 3,068 people in and around Filer. Last year it lent 7,736 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,742 visits.
Filer’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Filer Public ran 362 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 118 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people Filer Public serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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.
What’s behind Filer’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Filer is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #48 of 54 in Idaho. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Filer’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Filer
2.6 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Filer’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 Filer’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Filer Public serves 3,068 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,736 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,467 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Filer Public, 219 Main St., Filer.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Filer? 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 $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Filer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $108K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $141K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $108K 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 410 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 Filer
Does Filer have a public library?
Yes. Filer Public, 219 Main St., serves 3,068 people in and around Filer (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Filer 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 Filer’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Filer’s civic life grade?
C Filer is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #48 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 Filer.
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.