US Post Office-Albion · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainAlbion’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Albion Public Library serves Albion’s 1,680 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,322 visits.
The short version on Albion’s library
More library cards than residents
1,696 cards for 1,680 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Albion Public Library serves 1,680 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 48 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Albion Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2019. Today’s library there has 2,849 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 77 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 15 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Albion is a town of borrowers
Albion Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Albion’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Albion is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Albion’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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Albion
20.3 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Albion’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska 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 Albion’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
4,554 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Albion Public Library serves 1,680 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Albion last year.
A National Register landmark since 2019
Albion Public Library, 437 South 3rd Street, Albion.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Albion? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Albion Carnegie Library
Albion Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 25, 2019. It is significant for its education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
The Albion Carnegie Library, at 437 S. 3rd St. in Albion, Nebraska, is a Carnegie library built in 1908 which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. It was one of 69 libraries in Nebraska built from Andrew Carnegie funding, and was still serving as Albion's public library in 2019. It was designed by architects the Eisentraut-Colby-Pottenger Company.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albion cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $120K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $357K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $120K 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 1,696 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 Albion
Does Albion have a public library?
Yes. Albion Public Library, 437 South 3rd Street, serves Albion’s 1,680 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albion 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 Albion’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 13.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Albion’s civic life grade?
A Albion is ahead of 90% 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 Albion.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.