Springfield Community Hall · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Springfield’s library runs 222 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Springfield Memorial Library serves Springfield’s 1,509 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
Springfield’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Springfield last year. Kids & programs ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Springfield Memorial Library ran 335 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 222 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,554 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Springfield Memorial Library serves 1,509 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 37 hours a week. 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 ↓
Springfield uses its library more than almost any town its size
Springfield Memorial Library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Springfield has a card
1,426 cards for 1,509 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
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 Springfield’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
6.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.9%
7.9% of Springfield’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 Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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 Springfield 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.
Springfield Memorial Library serves 1,509 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
5,585 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Springfield Memorial Library, 665 Main Street, Springfield.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Springfield? 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 $1.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $190K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $372K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $190K 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 1,426 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Springfield Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes. Springfield Memorial Library, 665 Main Street, serves Springfield’s 1,509 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Springfield Memorial 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 Springfield’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 13.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Springfield’s civic life grade?
A Springfield is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Springfield.
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.