Howard’s library logs 8.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Howard City Library serves Howard’s 569 residents. Last year it lent 6,030 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,808 visits.
The short version on Howard’s library
More library cards than residents
760 cards for 569 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 65% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 26 items per child in Howard last year. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Howard City Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 91 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 41 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Howard’s civic life grade
Howard 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 →
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Howard last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Howard City Library serves 569 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,030 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
975 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Howard City Library, 126 S. Wabash, Howard.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Howard? 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 $1.61 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Howard cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $60K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $97K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $60K 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 760 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 Howard
Does Howard have a public library?
Yes. Howard City Library, 126 S. Wabash, serves Howard’s 569 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Howard City 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 Howard’s library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 10.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Howard’s civic life grade?
Howard 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 Howard.
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.