Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Weiser’s library logs 7.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Weiser Public serves 5,952 people in and around Weiser. Last year it lent 51K books, movies and e-books and logged 44K visits.
What Weiser’s library is like
Busy on a lean budget
Weiser Public spends $30 per resident, less than 71% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still busier than 86% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 191 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People come to Weiser Public a lot
Weiser Public logs 7.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.6 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.
What’s behind Weiser’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Weiser is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #8 of 54 in Idaho. 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Weiser
6.2 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Weiser’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 Weiser’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Weiser Public serves 5,952 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
51K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
5,939 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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.
Find it
Weiser Public, 628 E 1st St., Weiser.
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 $4.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Weiser cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $787K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 2,396 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 Weiser
Does Weiser have a public library?
Yes. Weiser Public, 628 E 1st St., serves 5,952 people in and around Weiser (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Weiser Public fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Weiser’s library?
It logged 7.5 visits and lent 8.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Weiser’s civic life grade?
A Weiser is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #8 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 Weiser.
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.