Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainLeigh’s library runs 130 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Leigh Public Library serves Leigh’s 439 residents. Last year it lent 1,919 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,506 visits.
Leigh’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 72% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 27%. Program attendance beats 90% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Leigh Public Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Leigh Public Library serves 439 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 ↓
Most of Leigh’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 50% of loans, more per resident than at 77% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 50%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
1,137 people came to the library’s 57 programs last year: 2.6 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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 Leigh’s civic life grade
Leigh 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 →
57 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 Leigh last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Leigh Public Library serves 439 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.
50% of borrowing is digital
1,919 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,920 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
966 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Leigh Public Library, 153 Main Street, Leigh.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Leigh? 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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Leigh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $40K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 226 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 Leigh
Does Leigh have a public library?
Yes. Leigh Public Library, 153 Main Street, serves Leigh’s 439 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leigh 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 Leigh’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Leigh’s civic life grade?
Leigh 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 Leigh.
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.