Photo: Omnedon · Public domainRidge Farm’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Elwood Library District serves 1,459 people in and around Ridge Farm. Last year it lent 2,429 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,897 visits.
The short version on Ridge Farm’s library
Elwood Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Elwood Library District records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Elwood Library District offered 8 programs last year, 5.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Ridge Farm branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% 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; Elwood Library District serves 1,459 people in and around Ridge Farm, 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 Ridge Farm’s civic life grade
Ridge Farm 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Elwood Library District serves 1,459 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elwood Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,429 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8 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
Elwood Library District, 104 North State Street, Ridge Farm.
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 Ridge Farm cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $60K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $60K 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 134 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elwood Library District serves 1,459 people in and around Ridge Farm, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ridge Farm.
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 Ridge Farm
Does Ridge Farm have a public library?
Yes. Elwood Library District, 104 North State Street, serves 1,459 people in and around Ridge Farm (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elwood Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ridge Farm’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Ridge Farm’s civic life grade?
Ridge Farm 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 Ridge Farm.
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.