Photo: In memoriam afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0Turtle Lake’s library lends 6.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Turtle Lake Public Library serves Turtle Lake’s 542 residents. Last year it lent 3,371 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,071 visits.
Turtle Lake’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
63% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 34%. What your card is worth ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 75%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Turtle Lake Public Library serves 542 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
A place to get online
Turtle Lake Public Library logs about 46 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 31 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Turtle Lake’s civic life grade
Turtle Lake 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Turtle Lake Public Library serves 542 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,371 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Turtle Lake’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 6,853 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
18 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Turtle Lake Public Library, 107 Eggert Street, Turtle Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Turtle Lake? 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 $3.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Turtle Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 423 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Turtle Lake
Does Turtle Lake have a public library?
Yes. Turtle Lake Public Library, 107 Eggert Street, serves Turtle Lake’s 542 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Turtle Lake Public Library 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 Turtle Lake’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Turtle Lake’s civic life grade?
Turtle Lake 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 Turtle Lake.
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.