Photo: Alvintrusty · CC BY-SA 4.0Alger’s library runs 167 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Alger Public Library serves 4,016 people in and around Alger. Last year it lent 9,683 books, movies and e-books and logged 14K visits.
Alger’s library, in brief
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Alger Public Library ran 670 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 167 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Alger Public Library serves 4,016 people in and around Alger, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Alger’s civic life grade
Alger 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 →
About 8 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 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Alger Public Library serves 4,016 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alger Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
44% of borrowing is digital
9,683 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,232 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Alger Public Library, 100 W Wagner St., Alger.
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 Alger Public Library branch.
New in Alger? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alger cardholder borrows.
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 789 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending and funding. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Alger Public Library serves 4,016 people in and around Alger, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Alger.
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 Alger
Does Alger have a public library?
Yes. Alger Public Library, 100 W Wagner St., serves 4,016 people in and around Alger (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alger 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 Alger’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Alger’s civic life grade?
Alger 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 Alger.
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.