Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Spring Valley’s library runs 6.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Spring Valley Public Library serves 6,280 people in and around Spring Valley. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
The short version on Spring Valley’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Spring Valley Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Spring Valley Public Library offered 40 programs last year, 6.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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; Spring Valley Public Library serves 6,280 people in and around Spring Valley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Spring Valley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Spring Valley is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Spring Valley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Spring Valley’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Spring Valley
11.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.9%
8.9% of Spring Valley’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Spring Valley’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Spring Valley Public Library serves 6,280 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Spring Valley Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,010 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
40 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.
Find it
Spring Valley Public Library, 121 West Jefferson St., Spring Valley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Spring Valley Public Library branch.
New in Spring Valley? 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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Spring Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $231K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $350K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $231K 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 1,469 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley | Spring Valley Public Library | — | 36 | A |
| Spring Valley 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. Spring Valley Public Library serves 6,280 people in and around Spring Valley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Spring Valley.
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 Spring Valley
Does Spring Valley have a public library?
Yes. Spring Valley Public Library, 121 West Jefferson St., serves 6,280 people in and around Spring Valley (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Spring Valley’s civic life grade?
A Spring Valley is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Spring Valley.
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.