Balcony House · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainImperial’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lied Imperial Public Library serves Imperial’s 1,969 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,620 visits.
The short version on Imperial’s library
More library cards than residents
2,621 cards for 1,969 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Imperial last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Lied Imperial Public Library serves 1,969 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 45 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 ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 104 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 35 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. 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 Imperial’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Imperial is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Imperial’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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Imperial
9.5 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Imperial’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 Imperial’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Imperial last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lied Imperial Public Library serves 1,969 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
5,860 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lied Imperial Public Library, 703 Broadway, Imperial.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Imperial? 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 $1.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Imperial cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $205K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $379K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $205K 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 2,621 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 Imperial
Does Imperial have a public library?
Yes. Lied Imperial Public Library, 703 Broadway, serves Imperial’s 1,969 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lied Imperial 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 Imperial’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 13.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Imperial’s civic life grade?
A− Imperial is ahead of 80% 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 Imperial.
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.