Cuba Blacksmith Shop · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Cuba’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hillcrest Library serves 582 people in and around Cuba. Last year it lent 1,225 books, movies and e-books and logged 260 visits.
Cuba’s library, in brief
Hillcrest Library is used less than most libraries its size
Hillcrest Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 71% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 29%. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Hillcrest Library offered 3 programs last year, 5.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
25% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Hillcrest Library serves 582 people in and around Cuba, 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 Cuba’s civic life grade
Cuba 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 →
71% of borrowing is digital
1,225 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
864 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hillcrest Library serves 582 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Hillcrest Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hillcrest Library system. The library’s own count.
3 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
Hillcrest Library, 408 Baird Street, Cuba.
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 Hillcrest Library branch.
New in Cuba? 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 Cuba cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 66 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hillcrest Library serves 582 people in and around Cuba, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cuba.
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 Cuba
Does Cuba have a public library?
Yes. Hillcrest Library, 408 Baird Street, serves 582 people in and around Cuba (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hillcrest 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 Cuba’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cuba’s civic life grade?
Cuba 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 Cuba.
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.