Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainScotia’s library runs 424 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center serves Scotia’s 297 residents. Last year it lent 4,115 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,550 visits.
What Scotia’s library is like
More library cards than residents
356 cards for 297 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 ↓
Most of Scotia’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 62% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 38%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center ran 126 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 424 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 622 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center serves 297 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 Scotia’s civic life grade
Scotia 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 →
126 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center serves 297 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
62% of borrowing is digital
4,115 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,965 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
2,549 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center, 110 S. Main, Scotia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Scotia? 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 $3.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scotia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $17K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17K 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 356 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 Scotia
Does Scotia have a public library?
Yes. Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center, 110 S. Main, serves Scotia’s 297 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scotia Public Library & Heritage Center 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 Scotia’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 13.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Scotia’s civic life grade?
Scotia 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 Scotia.
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.