Star’s library is a branch of Sandhill Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Star’s library is the Star Branch, a branch of Sandhill Regional Library System, which serves 216,654 people and lent 417K items last year.
The short version on Star’s library
The Sandhill Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Sandhill Regional Library System records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $16 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Star branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 65% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 71% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Star’s library is a branch of Sandhill Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (216,654 people), not just the Star branch.
What’s behind Star’s civic life grade
Star 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Sandhill Regional Library System serves 216,654 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sandhill Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
417K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
69,998 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 30 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
Star Branch, 222 S Main St., Star.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sandhill Regional Library System branch.
New in Star? 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 $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Star cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.5M 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 94,029 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Star Branch is one branch of Sandhill Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 216,654 people it serves.
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 Star
Does Star have a public library?
Yes: Star Branch, 222 S Main St., is a branch of Sandhill Regional Library System, which serves 216,654 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sandhill Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Star’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Star’s civic life grade?
Star 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 Star.
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.