Zion Presbyterian Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Howells’ library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Howells Public Library serves Howells’s 561 residents. Last year it lent 5,544 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,325 visits.
Howells’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,173 cards for 561 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
Howells Public Library serves 561 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 ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Howells Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 34% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 53 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 32 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 Howells’ civic life grade
Howells 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.
Howells Public Library serves 561 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,544 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,910 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
53 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Howells last year.
Find it
Howells Public Library, 130 North 3rd Street, Howells.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Howells? 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 $2.62 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Howells cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $38K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $99K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $38K 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 1,173 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 Howells
Does Howells have a public library?
Yes. Howells Public Library, 130 North 3rd Street, serves Howells’ 561 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Howells 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 Howells’ library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Howells’ civic life grade?
Howells 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 Howells.
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.