Lyman’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Lyman Public Library serves Lyman’s 254 residents. Last year it lent 833 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,264 visits.
Lyman’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
390 cards for 254 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lyman Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Lyman Public Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Lyman Public Library serves 254 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 ↓
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 Lyman’s civic life grade
Lyman 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lyman Public Library serves 254 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
833 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,722 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Find it
Lyman Public Library, 313 Jeffers Street, Lyman.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lyman? 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 Lyman cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $16K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $14K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16K 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 390 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 Lyman
Does Lyman have a public library?
Yes. Lyman Public Library, 313 Jeffers Street, serves Lyman’s 254 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lyman Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lyman’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lyman’s civic life grade?
Lyman 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 Lyman.
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.