Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainBeemer’s library runs 92 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Karlen Memorial Library serves Beemer’s 640 residents. Last year it lent 1,958 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,544 visits.
What’s behind Beemer’s civic life grade
Beemer 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Karlen Memorial Library serves 640 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,958 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,274 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
477 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
59 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Beemer last year.
Find it
Karlen Memorial Library, 815 3rd Street, Beemer.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Beemer? 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 Beemer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 533 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 Beemer
Does Beemer have a public library?
Yes. Karlen Memorial Library, 815 3rd Street, serves Beemer’s 640 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Karlen Memorial 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 Beemer’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Beemer’s civic life grade?
Beemer 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 Beemer.
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.