Photo: Not credited · Public domainBison’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Bison Public Library serves Bison’s 304 residents. Last year it lent 2,865 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,096 visits.
The short version on Bison’s library
More library cards than residents
420 cards for 304 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Most of Bison’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 60% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 40%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Bison Public Library serves 304 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
Bison Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
People come to Bison Public Library a lot
Bison Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is closer to typical, at 3.8 print items per resident. 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 Bison’s civic life grade
Bison 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 →
60% of borrowing is digital
2,865 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,718 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bison Public Library serves 304 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
30 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 Bison last year.
Find it
Bison Public Library, 300 W Carr St., Bison.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bison? 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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $23K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $50K 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 420 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bison | Bison Public Library fine-free | 9.4 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bison Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Bison
Does Bison have a public library?
Yes. Bison Public Library, 300 W Carr St., serves Bison’s 304 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bison 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 Bison’s library?
It logged 10.2 visits and lent 9.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bison’s civic life grade?
Bison 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 Bison.
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.