Evangelical Lutheran School · Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0Sylvan Grove’s library lends 25 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Sylvan Grove Public Library serves Sylvan Grove’s 288 residents. Last year it lent 7,972 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,879 visits.
The short version on Sylvan Grove’s library
Sylvan Grove uses its library more than almost any town its size
Sylvan Grove Public Library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 25 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 70% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
324 cards for 288 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
Sylvan Grove Public Library ran 121 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 420 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,478 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Sylvan Grove Public Library keeps short hours: about 16 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sylvan Grove’s civic life grade
Sylvan Grove 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 2 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sylvan Grove Public Library serves 288 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,972 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
846 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sylvan Grove Public Library, 122 S Main, Sylvan Grove.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sylvan Grove? 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 $5.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sylvan Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $127K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 324 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Sylvan Grove’s 4,879 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Sylvan Grove
Does Sylvan Grove have a public library?
Yes. Sylvan Grove Public Library, 122 S Main, serves Sylvan Grove’s 288 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sylvan Grove 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 Sylvan Grove’s library?
It logged 16.9 visits and lent 27.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sylvan Grove’s civic life grade?
Sylvan Grove 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 Sylvan Grove.
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.