Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainSt. Paul’s library logs 21 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Saint Paul Public Library serves St. Paul’s 2,427 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 50K visits.
St. Paul’s library, in brief
St. Paul has the most-used library in Nebraska
Out of 41 Nebraska towns with a library of their own, St. Paul comes first for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
St. Paul uses its library more than almost any town its size
Saint Paul Public Library logs 21 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 28 items per child in St. Paul last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Saint Paul Public Library serves 2,427 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 70 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 ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
Saint Paul Public Library is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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 St. Paul’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Paul is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs put St. Paul near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
Saint Paul Public Library logged 20.5 visits per resident in FY2024, #25 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in St. Paul
11.2 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.9%
13.9% of St. Paul’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 St. Paul’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Saint Paul Public Library serves 2,427 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 48K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
6,028 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 St. Paul last year.
Find it
Saint Paul Public Library, 1301 Howard Avenue, St. Paul.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in St. Paul? 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 $3.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Paul cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $129K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $508K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $129K 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 1,979 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. St. Paul’s 49,808 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Saint Paul Public 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 St. Paul
Does St. Paul have a public library?
Yes. Saint Paul Public Library, 1301 Howard Avenue, serves St. Paul’s 2,427 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Saint Paul 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 St. Paul’s library?
It logged 20.5 visits and lent 14.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Its visits per resident rank #25 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is St. Paul’s civic life grade?
A+ St. Paul is among the top 1% 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 St. Paul.
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.