Wetmore’s library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Wetmore Public Library serves Wetmore’s 340 residents. Last year it lent 3,616 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,213 visits.
The short version on Wetmore’s library
Wetmore uses its library more than almost any town its size
Wetmore Public Library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Wetmore Public Library ran 85 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 250 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,453 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
345 cards for 340 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 ↓
A small-town library
Wetmore Public Library serves 340 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 32 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 12%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Wetmore’s civic life grade
Wetmore 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 →
85 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Wetmore last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wetmore Public Library serves 340 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
3,616 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
79 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wetmore Public Library, 328 2nd St., Wetmore.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wetmore? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wetmore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $68K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 345 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Wetmore’s 5,213 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 Wetmore
Does Wetmore have a public library?
Yes. Wetmore Public Library, 328 2nd St., serves Wetmore’s 340 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wetmore 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 Wetmore’s library?
It logged 15.3 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 Wetmore’s civic life grade?
Wetmore 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 Wetmore.
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.