Cuba’s library runs 126 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Cuba Circulating Library Association serves 4,575 people in and around Cuba. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 33K visits.
Cuba’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Cuba Circulating Library Association ran 576 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 126 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 8,587 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
44% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 56%. 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; Cuba Circulating Library Association serves 4,575 people in and around Cuba, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cuba’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cuba is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Cuba is graded on two of the three inputs. Cuba’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Cuba
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Cuba’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Cuba’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cuba Circulating Library Association serves 4,575 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cuba Circulating Library Association system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,087 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Cuba Circulating Library, 39 East Main Street, Cuba.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cuba Circulating Library Association branch.
New in Cuba? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cuba cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $323K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $661K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $323K 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 2,440 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cuba Circulating Library Association serves 4,575 people in and around Cuba, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cuba.
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 Cuba
Does Cuba have a public library?
Yes. Cuba Circulating Library Association, 39 East Main Street, serves 4,575 people in and around Cuba (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cuba Circulating Library Association 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 Cuba’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cuba’s civic life grade?
B− Cuba is ahead of 49% 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 Cuba.
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.