Photo: Decumanus at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Lava Hot Springs’ library is a branch of South Bannock District, which lends less per resident than 53% of systems its size
Lava Hot Springs’s library is the South Bannock District - Lava Hot Springs, a branch of South Bannock District, which serves 6,973 people and lent 31K items last year.
What stands out about South Bannock District - Lava Hot Springs
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Lava Hot Springs’ civic life grade
Lava Hot Springs 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
South Bannock District serves 6,973 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Bannock District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,915 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
314 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
South Bannock District - Lava Hot Springs, 33 Main St., Lava Hot Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Bannock District branch.
New in Lava Hot Springs? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lava Hot Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $401K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $486K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $401K 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 5,368 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. South Bannock District - Lava Hot Springs is one branch of South Bannock District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,973 people it serves.
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 Lava Hot Springs
Does Lava Hot Springs have a public library?
Yes: South Bannock District - Lava Hot Springs, 33 Main St., is a branch of South Bannock District, which serves 6,973 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Bannock District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lava Hot Springs’ library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lava Hot Springs’ civic life grade?
Lava Hot Springs 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 Lava Hot Springs.
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.