Photo: J.B. Chandler · Public domainPlentywood’s library runs 11 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sheridan County Library serves 3,539 people in and around Plentywood. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,408 visits.
What stands out about Sheridan County Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Plentywood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Plentywood is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Plentywood is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Plentywood near the top nationally; Plentywood’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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Plentywood
24.2 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
16.5%
16.5% of Plentywood’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana 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 Plentywood’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
8,307 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sheridan County Library serves 3,539 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sheridan County Library system. The library’s own count.
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
Sheridan County Library, 100 West Laurel Ave, Plentywood.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Sheridan County Library branch.
New in Plentywood? 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 $1.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Plentywood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $291K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 1,308 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sheridan County Library serves 3,539 people in and around Plentywood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Plentywood.
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 Plentywood
Does Plentywood have a public library?
Yes. Sheridan County Library, 100 West Laurel Ave, serves 3,539 people in and around Plentywood (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sheridan County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Plentywood’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Plentywood’s civic life grade?
A+ Plentywood is among the top 1% 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 Plentywood.
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.