Sterling’s library lends 1.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Sterling Public Library serves Sterling’s 470 residents. Last year it lent 891 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,440 visits.
The short version on Sterling’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Sterling Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sterling Public Library serves 470 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 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 ↓
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 Sterling’s civic life grade
Sterling 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sterling Public Library serves 470 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Sterling Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
891 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
12 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 Sterling last year.
Find it
Sterling Public Library, 150 Broadway Street, Sterling.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sterling? 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 Sterling cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 248 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 Sterling
Does Sterling have a public library?
Yes. Sterling Public Library, 150 Broadway Street, serves Sterling’s 470 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sterling Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sterling’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sterling’s civic life grade?
Sterling 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 Sterling.
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.