Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0Shelby’s library logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Toole County Library serves 4,971 people in and around Shelby. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.
Shelby’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 99% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 55% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 115 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.5 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Toole County Library serves 4,971 people in and around Shelby, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Shelby’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelby is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #10 of 28 in Montana. Shelby is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Shelby’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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Shelby
7.5 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Shelby’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 Shelby’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Toole County Library serves 4,971 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Toole County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,742 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 2 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.
Find it
Toole County Library, 229 2nd Ave S, Shelby.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Toole County Library branch.
New in Shelby? 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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $141K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $156K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $141K 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 1,808 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Toole County Library serves 4,971 people in and around Shelby, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Shelby.
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 Shelby
Does Shelby have a public library?
Yes. Toole County Library, 229 2nd Ave S, serves 4,971 people in and around Shelby (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Toole 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 Shelby’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Shelby’s civic life grade?
A Shelby is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 of 28 in Montana. 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 Shelby.
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.