Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainWood River’s library runs 129 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Maltman Memorial Public Library serves Wood River’s 1,158 residents. Last year it lent 7,042 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,908 visits.
Wood River’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Maltman Memorial Public Library serves 1,158 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 43 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 82% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 12 items per child in Wood River last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 149 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 45 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
3,076 people came to the library’s 149 programs last year: 2.7 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 91% 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 Wood River’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wood River is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Wood River is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Wood River’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Wood River
9.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.6%
7.6% of Wood River’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 Wood River’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Wood River last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Maltman Memorial Public Library serves 1,158 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,042 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,632 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
696 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Maltman Memorial Public Library, 910 Main Street, Wood River.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wood River? 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 $1.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wood River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $87K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $123K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $87K 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 476 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 Wood River
Does Wood River have a public library?
Yes. Maltman Memorial Public Library, 910 Main Street, serves Wood River’s 1,158 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maltman Memorial 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 Wood River’s library?
It logged 6.0 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wood River’s civic life grade?
A− Wood River is ahead of 82% 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 Wood River.
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.