Spearville’s library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Spearville Township Library serves 1,134 people in and around Spearville. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,432 visits.
The short version on Spearville’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Spearville Township Library serves 1,134 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
29% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 55%. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Spearville Township Library logs about 15 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 4.8 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 58% of similar-size libraries. 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 Spearville’s civic life grade
Spearville 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 →
49 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Spearville Township Library serves 1,134 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
808 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Spearville Township Library, 414 N. Main Street, Spearville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Spearville? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Spearville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $90K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $173K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $90K 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 635 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 Spearville
Does Spearville have a public library?
Yes. Spearville Township Library, 414 N. Main Street, serves 1,134 people in and around Spearville (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spearville Township 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 Spearville’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Spearville’s civic life grade?
Spearville 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 Spearville.
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.