Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Stanley’s library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Stanley District serves 484 people in and around Stanley. Last year it lent 4,264 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,688 visits.
Stanley’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
487 cards for 484 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Stanley District spends $228 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Stanley District logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.2 print items per resident. 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; Stanley District serves 484 people in and around Stanley, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Stanley’s civic life grade
Stanley 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Stanley District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stanley District serves 484 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,264 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
774 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
93 programs a year
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.
Find it
Stanley Community, 240 Niece Ave, Stanley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Stanley District branch.
New in Stanley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stanley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $110K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $89K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $110K 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 487 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Stanley District serves 484 people in and around Stanley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Stanley.
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 Stanley
Does Stanley have a public library?
Yes. Stanley District, 240 Niece Ave, serves 484 people in and around Stanley (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stanley 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 Stanley’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stanley’s civic life grade?
Stanley 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 Stanley.
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.