Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0Silver Springs’ library logs 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Town of Gainesville Public Library serves 2,009 people in and around Silver Springs. Last year it lent 5,882 print books and media and logged 3,326 visits.
The short version on Silver Springs’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Town of Gainesville Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Town of Gainesville Public Library serves 2,009 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 22 hours a week
Town of Gainesville Public Library keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 60 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 22 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Town of Gainesville Public Library serves more than Silver Springs
The library’s service area covers 2,009 people in and around Silver Springs, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Silver Springs’ civic life grade
Silver Springs 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Town of Gainesville Public Library serves 2,009 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,882 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
60 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.
Find it
Town of Gainesville Public Library, 10 Church Street, Silver Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Silver Springs? 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 $1.11 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silver Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $90K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $100K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $90K 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 514 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Silver Springs
Does Silver Springs have a public library?
Yes. Town of Gainesville Public Library, 10 Church Street, serves 2,009 people in and around Silver Springs (the survey’s count) and is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Gainesville 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 Silver Springs’ library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Silver Springs’ civic life grade?
Silver Springs 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 Silver Springs.
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.