Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Allen’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lyon County Library Dist. #1 serves 1,069 people in and around Allen. Last year it lent 1,156 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,083 visits.
The short version on Allen’s library
Lyon County Library Dist. #1 is used less than most libraries its size
Lyon County Library Dist. #1 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. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 58 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Allen branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Lyon County Library Dist. #1 serves 1,069 people in and around Allen, 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 Allen’s civic life grade
Allen 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.
Lyon County Library Dist. #1 serves 1,069 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 Lyon County Library Dist. #1 system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,156 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
402 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Lyon County Library Dist. #1, 421 Main, Allen.
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 Lyon County Library Dist. #1 branch.
New in Allen? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Allen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $51K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $52K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $51K 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 390 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lyon County Library Dist. #1 serves 1,069 people in and around Allen, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Allen.
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 Allen
Does Allen have a public library?
Yes. Lyon County Library Dist. #1, 421 Main, serves 1,069 people in and around Allen (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lyon County Library Dist. #1 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 Allen’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Allen’s civic life grade?
Allen 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 Allen.
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.