Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainSidney’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sidney Public Library serves 9,541 people in and around Sidney. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
The short version on Sidney’s library
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 155 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. Print still makes up 53%. 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; Sidney Public Library serves 9,541 people in and around Sidney, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sidney’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sidney is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #14 of 55 in Nebraska. Sidney is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sidney’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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Sidney
7.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Sidney’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 Sidney’s residents live; 2022.
47% of borrowing is digital
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,953 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sidney Public Library serves 9,541 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sidney Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Sidney Public Library, 1112 12th Avenue, Sidney.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sidney Public Library branch.
New in Sidney? 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 Sidney cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $477K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $376K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $477K 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 3,929 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sidney Public Library serves 9,541 people in and around Sidney, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sidney.
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 Sidney
Does Sidney have a public library?
Yes. Sidney Public Library, 1112 12th Avenue, serves 9,541 people in and around Sidney (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sidney 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 Sidney’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sidney’s civic life grade?
A Sidney is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 of 55 in Nebraska. 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 Sidney.
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.