Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainBeaver City’s library runs 91 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Beaver City Public Library serves Beaver City’s 530 residents. Last year it lent 3,332 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,516 visits.
The short version on Beaver City’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
91% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
663 cards for 530 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
Beaver City Public Library serves 530 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 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 ↓
Beaver City invests in its library
Beaver City Public Library spends $110 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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 Beaver City’s civic life grade
Beaver City 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Beaver City Public Library serves 530 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,332 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
838 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
48 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
Beaver City Public Library, 408 10th Street, Beaver City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Beaver City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Beaver City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $59K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $55K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $59K 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 663 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 Beaver City
Does Beaver City have a public library?
Yes. Beaver City Public Library, 408 10th Street, serves Beaver City’s 530 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Beaver City 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 Beaver City’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Beaver City’s civic life grade?
Beaver City 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 Beaver City.
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.