Dowling’s library runs 0.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Dowling Public Library serves 4,788 people in and around Dowling. Last year it lent 6,283 print books and media and logged 9,077 visits.
What Dowling’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Dowling Public Library offered 4 programs last year, 0.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Dowling Public Library sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Dowling Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Dowling Public Library serves 4,788 people in and around Dowling, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Dowling’s civic life grade
Dowling 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dowling Public Library serves 4,788 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dowling Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
6,283 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
4 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Dowling Public Library, 1765 East Dowling Road, Hastings.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dowling Public Library branch.
New in Dowling? 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 $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dowling cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $71K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $105K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $71K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 262 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Dowling Public Library serves 4,788 people in and around Dowling, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dowling.
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 Dowling
Does Dowling have a public library?
Yes. Dowling Public Library, 1765 East Dowling Road, serves 4,788 people in and around Dowling (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dowling Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dowling’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dowling’s civic life grade?
Dowling 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 Dowling.
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.