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Brough-Martinson HouseBrough-Martinson House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hurley Public Library

Hurley’s library logs 2.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Hurley Public Library serves Hurley’s 385 residents. Last year it lent 1,838 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,028 visits.

603 Center Avenue, Hurley 57036 · about 20 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,838
4.8 per resident
Visits a year
1,028
2.7 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
15
about 1 a week · 127 attended
Cardholders
100%
400 cards
Open
20 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Hurley’s library

More library cards than residents

400 cards for 385 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 ↓

A small-town library

Hurley Public Library serves 385 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

Hurley Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

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.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Hurley’s civic life grade

Hurley isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Hurley’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.7 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 63%
Borrowing per resident 3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 61%
Digital borrowing 1.8 e-items · typical 1Higher than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 51%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 70%
Programs offered 39 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 63%
Cardholders 100% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 80%
Spending $66 per resident · typical $54Higher than 63%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Hurley Public Library serves 385 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

1,028
visits
2.7 per resident
1,838
loans, print + digital
4.8 per resident
15
programs & events
127 attended
400
library cards
100% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week2people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)2 public computers11K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

1,838 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1,838loans
Books & media (adults) 33%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 38%
How hard the shelves work
0.1×

Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.

From your couch

695 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

15 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Hurley →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–55
Ages 6–115
Teens5
Adults0
All ages0
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
4

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hurley last year.

127
people at programs
15
programs
The building

Find it

Hurley Public Library, 603 Center Avenue, Hurley.

20
hours open a week
660
square feet
11K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Hurley? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.17 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hurley cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$66 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.

Local taxes 100%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $30K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 400 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Hurley

Does Hurley have a public library?

Yes. Hurley Public Library, 603 Center Avenue, serves Hurley’s 385 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Hurley 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 Hurley’s library?

It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Hurley’s civic life grade?

Hurley 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 Hurley.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.