Lyons’ library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lyons Public Library serves Lyons’s 1,203 residents. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and drew 384 people to its programs.
What Lyons’s library is like
A small-town library
Lyons Public Library serves 1,203 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 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 ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Lyons Public Library holds 25,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Lyons’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lyons is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Lyons is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Lyons’ 2024 visits carries forward a 2023 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Lyons
3.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Lyons’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Lyons’ residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
13K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lyons Public Library serves 1,203 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
7 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Lyons last year.
Find it
Lyons Public Library, 279 8th St., Lyons.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lyons? 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 $3.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lyons cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $201K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K 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 736 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Lyons Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2023 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’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 Lyons
Does Lyons have a public library?
Yes. Lyons Public Library, 279 8th St., serves Lyons’ 1,203 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lyons Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lyons’ library?
It lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 7 programs that drew 384 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Lyons’ civic life grade?
B Lyons is ahead of 58% 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 Lyons.
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.