Tilden’s library lends 8.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library serves Tilden’s 989 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,072 visits.
Tilden’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,596 cards for 989 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 ↓
Tilden invests in its library
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library spends $151 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library holds 25,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Tilden’s civic life grade
Tilden 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library serves 989 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
2,102 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
19 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 Tilden last year.
Find it
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library, 202 South Center Street, Tilden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tilden? 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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tilden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $149K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $178K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $149K 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 1,596 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 Tilden
Does Tilden have a public library?
Yes. Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library, 202 South Center Street, serves Tilden’s 989 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden 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 Tilden’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Tilden’s civic life grade?
Tilden 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 Tilden.
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.