Photo: John Lee Lopez · CC BY-SA 4.0Faith’s library runs 120 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Faith Public Library serves 1,027 people in and around Faith. Last year it lent 4,412 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,500 visits.
Faith’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 68% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
2,840 people came to the system’s 123 programs last year: 2.8 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 123 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Faith Public Library serves 1,027 people in and around Faith, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Faith’s civic life grade
Faith 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 2 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 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Faith Public Library serves 1,027 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, for the whole Faith Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,412 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
982 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Faith Public Library, 204 W Fifth St., Faith.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Faith Public Library branch.
New in Faith? 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 $2.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Faith cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $89K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 490 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Faith Public Library serves 1,027 people in and around Faith, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Faith.
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 Faith
Does Faith have a public library?
Yes. Faith Public Library, 204 W Fifth St., serves 1,027 people in and around Faith (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Faith Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Faith’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Faith’s civic life grade?
Faith 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 Faith.
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.