Paxton’s library runs 362 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Paxton Public Library serves Paxton’s 511 residents. Last year it lent 4,177 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,080 visits.
What Paxton’s library is like
More library cards than residents
610 cards for 511 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 ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Paxton Public Library ran 185 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 362 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,312 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Paxton Public Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Paxton Public Library serves 511 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 ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans, more per resident than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 58%, much of it kids’ books. 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 Paxton’s civic life grade
Paxton 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 →
185 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 Paxton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Paxton Public Library serves 511 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.
42% of borrowing is digital
4,177 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,756 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Paxton Public Library, 110 North Oak Street, Paxton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Paxton? 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 $2.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paxton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 610 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 Paxton
Does Paxton have a public library?
Yes. Paxton Public Library, 110 North Oak Street, serves Paxton’s 511 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paxton 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 Paxton’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 8.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Paxton’s civic life grade?
Paxton 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 Paxton.
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.