Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0St. Maries’ library runs 149 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
St. Maries Public serves 2,598 people in and around St. Maries. Last year it lent 18K books, movies and e-books and logged 28K visits.
What St. Maries’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
St. Maries Public ran 388 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 149 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 8,793 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
St. Maries Public logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 74%. What your card is worth ↓
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; St. Maries Public serves 2,598 people in and around St. Maries, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind St. Maries’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Maries is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in St. Maries
4.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of St. Maries’ 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 St. Maries’ residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
St. Maries Public serves 2,598 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Maries Public system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
18K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,804 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
St. Maries Public, 822 College Ave, St. Maries.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every St. Maries Public branch.
New in St. Maries? 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 $2.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Maries cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $139K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $403K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $139K 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 2,008 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. St. Maries Public counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. St. Maries Public serves 2,598 people in and around St. Maries, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just St. Maries.
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 St. Maries
Does St. Maries have a public library?
Yes. St. Maries Public, 822 College Ave, serves 2,598 people in and around St. Maries (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Maries Public 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 St. Maries’ library?
It logged 10.8 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is St. Maries’ civic life grade?
A St. Maries is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 St. Maries.
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.