Alden’s library runs 269 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Alden. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Alden’s library
More library cards than residents
2,238 cards for 1,225 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 ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Alden District Library ran 330 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 269 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,292 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Alden District Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 330 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 20 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Alden District Library spends $138 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. 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; Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Alden, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Alden’s civic life grade
Alden 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 →
330 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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.
Alden District Library serves 1,225 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alden District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,946 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Alden District Library, 8751 Helena Road, Alden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alden District Library branch.
New in Alden? 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 $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $169K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $232K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $169K 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 2,238 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Alden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Alden.
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 Alden
Does Alden have a public library?
Yes. Alden District Library, 8751 Helena Road, serves 1,225 people in and around Alden (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alden District 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 Alden’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Alden’s civic life grade?
Alden 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 Alden.
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.