Comfrey’s library runs 264 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Comfrey Area Library serves 598 people in and around Comfrey. Last year it lent 7,711 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,748 visits.
What Comfrey’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 158 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 44 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Comfrey Area Library logs 9.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Comfrey Area Library ran 158 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 264 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,610 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 57% 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; Comfrey Area Library serves 598 people in and around Comfrey, 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 Comfrey’s civic life grade
Comfrey 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 3 kids’ programs a week
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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Comfrey Area Library serves 598 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 Comfrey Area Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,711 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
445 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Comfrey Area Library, 306 Brown Street West, Comfrey.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Comfrey Area Library branch.
New in Comfrey? 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 $3.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Comfrey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $131K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 221 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfrey | Comfrey Area Library | — | 28 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Selma Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bashaw Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Comfrey Area Library serves 598 people in and around Comfrey, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Comfrey.
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 Comfrey
Does Comfrey have a public library?
Yes. Comfrey Area Library, 306 Brown Street West, serves 598 people in and around Comfrey (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Comfrey Area 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 Comfrey’s library?
It logged 9.6 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Comfrey’s civic life grade?
Comfrey 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 Comfrey.
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.