Jasper’s library lends 2.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Jasper Free Library serves Jasper’s 1,418 residents. Last year it lent 4,547 books, movies and e-books.
The short version on Jasper’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Jasper Free Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Jasper Free Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Jasper Free Library serves 1,418 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Jasper Free Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Jasper Free Library spends $16 per resident, less than 94% 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 Jasper’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Jasper has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Jasper is graded on two of the three inputs. Jasper’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Jasper Free Library spends $16 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$101K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
Jasper has few registered community nonprofits
1.0 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Jasper Free Library serves 1,418 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 190 visits against 4,547 loans, so we leave the count out.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,547 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,197 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
1,158 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Jasper last year.
Find it
Jasper Free Library, 3807 Library Street, Jasper.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jasper? 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 $3.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jasper cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $23K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $23K 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 364 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper | Jasper Free Library fine-free | 3.2 | 20 | D− |
| Woodhull | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Troupsburg | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Greenwood | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cameron | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Jasper
Does Jasper have a public library?
Yes. Jasper Free Library, 3807 Library Street, serves Jasper’s 1,418 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jasper Free 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 Jasper’s library?
It lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital). Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Jasper’s civic life grade?
D− Jasper has fewer library visits and community nonprofits per resident than most U.S. towns. 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 Jasper.
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.