Hardtner’s library runs 391 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hardtner Public Library serves Hardtner’s 161 residents. Last year it lent 2,760 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,129 visits.
Hardtner’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
382 cards for 161 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Hardtner Public Library ran 63 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 391 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 338 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Hardtner Public Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Hardtner Public Library serves 161 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hardtner’s civic life grade
Hardtner 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 →
63 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hardtner Public Library serves 161 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,760 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
690 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hardtner Public Library, 102 E Central, Hardtner.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hardtner? 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 $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hardtner cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $14K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $47K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14K 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 382 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 Hardtner
Does Hardtner have a public library?
Yes. Hardtner Public Library, 102 E Central, serves Hardtner’s 161 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hardtner 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 Hardtner’s library?
It logged 7.0 visits and lent 17.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hardtner’s civic life grade?
Hardtner 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 Hardtner.
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.