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Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library

Delight Township’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library serves Delight Township’s 1,177 residents. Last year it lent 2,291 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,687 visits.

102 East Kimball, Callaway 68825 · about 16 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
2,291
1.9 per resident
Visits a year
1,687
1.4 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
5
about 1 a week · 59 attended
Cardholders
33%
393 cards
Open
16 hrs
a week
In brief

What Delight Township’s library is like

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓

Open only about 16 hours a week

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library offered 5 programs last year, 4.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓

A small-town library

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library serves 1,177 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓

Runs on less money than most

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library spends $14 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Delight Township’s civic life grade

Delight Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Delight Township’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.4 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 85%
Borrowing per resident 1.2 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 88%
Digital borrowing 0.7 e-items · typical 1Lower than 57%
Kids’ borrowing 0.3 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 86%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.7Bottom 10%
Programs offered 4.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Bottom 10%
Cardholders 33% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 73%
Spending $14 per resident · typical $54Bottom 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library serves 1,177 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

1,687
visits
1.4 per resident
2,291
loans, print + digital
1.9 per resident
5
programs & events
59 attended
393
library cards
33% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week1people at a program
Every week32visits
1 staff (full-time equivalent)8 public computers9,627 books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

2,291 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

2,291loans
Books & media (adults) 47%Kids’ books & media 15%E-books, audio & streaming 38%
How hard the shelves work
0.1×

Each of the 9,627 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.

From your couch

870 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

5 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Delight Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51
Ages 6–113
Teens0
Adults0
All ages1
Little ones
0

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
2

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Delight Township last year.

59
people at programs
5
programs
The building

Find it

Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library, 102 East Kimball, Callaway.

16
hours open a week
4,056
square feet
9,627
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Delight Township? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.14 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Delight Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$14 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $17K.

Local taxes 83%State 1%Gifts & other 16%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17K 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 393 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Delight TownshipNigel Sprouse Memorial Library fine-free1.916— under 1,000 residents
Triumph TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Elim TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Custer TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Grant TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
Wood River TownshipNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).

How to read these numbers

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 Delight Township

Does Delight Township have a public library?

Yes. Nigel Sprouse Memorial Library, 102 East Kimball, serves Delight Township’s 1,177 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Nigel Sprouse Memorial 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 Delight Township’s library?

It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Delight Township’s civic life grade?

Delight Township 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 Delight Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.