Photo: Tedder · CC BY 3.0Powers’ library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hazel M. Lewis Library serves Powers’s 884 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 7,594 visits.
What Powers’s library is like
Powers uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hazel M. Lewis Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Hazel M. Lewis Library serves 884 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 62 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 22 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Hazel M. Lewis Library logs about 72 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 30 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Powers invests in its library
Hazel M. Lewis Library spends $121 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. 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 Powers’ civic life grade
Powers 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 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.
Hazel M. Lewis Library serves 884 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
62 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Powers last year.
Find it
Hazel M. Lewis Library, 511 3rd Ave, Powers.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Powers? 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 $2.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Powers resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $107K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $265K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $107K 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 884 people it serves ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Powers
Does Powers have a public library?
Yes. Hazel M. Lewis Library, 511 3rd Ave, serves Powers’ 884 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hazel M. Lewis Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Powers’ library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 12.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Powers’ civic life grade?
Powers 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 Powers.
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.