Photo: Classicarchetype2 · CC BY 3.0Spiceland’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland. Last year it lent 1,535 print books and media and logged 2,235 visits.
The short version on Spiceland’s library
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Spiceland branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland, 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 Spiceland’s civic life grade
Spiceland 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Spiceland Town-Township Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,535 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
29 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
Spiceland Town-Township Public Library, 106 West Main Street, Spiceland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Spiceland Town-Township Public Library branch.
New in Spiceland? 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 Spiceland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $25K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 271 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Spiceland Town-Township Public Library serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Spiceland.
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 Spiceland
Does Spiceland have a public library?
Yes. Spiceland Town-Township Public Library, 106 West Main Street, serves 2,184 people in and around Spiceland (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spiceland Town-Township Public Library 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 Spiceland’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Spiceland’s civic life grade?
Spiceland 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 Spiceland.
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.