Johnston Memorial Building · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Wallace’s library runs 106 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Faith Memorial Library serves Wallace’s 302 residents. Last year it lent 916 books, movies and e-books and logged 642 visits.
What Wallace’s library is like
Open only about 12 hours a week
Faith Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Nearly everyone in Wallace has a card
299 cards for 302 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Faith Memorial Library serves 302 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 74% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 67% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Faith Memorial Library spends $13 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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 Wallace’s civic life grade
Wallace 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 →
32 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Faith Memorial Library serves 302 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
916 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Faith Memorial Library, 122 North Garrison Avenue, Wallace.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wallace? 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 $4.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wallace cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $4,000.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4,000 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 299 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 Wallace
Does Wallace have a public library?
Yes. Faith Memorial Library, 122 North Garrison Avenue, serves Wallace’s 302 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Faith Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wallace’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wallace’s civic life grade?
Wallace 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 Wallace.
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.