Saline County Bank · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Western’s library logs 5.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library serves Western’s 222 residents. Last year it lent 1,797 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,259 visits.
Western’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
66% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library serves 222 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 ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
581 people came to the library’s 18 programs last year: 2.6 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Western’s civic life grade
Western 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 →
18 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library serves 222 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.
41% of borrowing is digital
1,797 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.
745 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library, 106 South West Avenue, Western.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Western? 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 $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Western cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33K 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 162 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. Struckman-Baatz 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 Western
Does Western have a public library?
Yes. Struckman-Baatz Memorial Library, 106 South West Avenue, serves Western’s 222 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Struckman-Baatz Memorial 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 Western’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Western’s civic life grade?
Western 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 Western.
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.