Lake Preston’s library runs 16 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Dorothee Pike Memorial Library serves Lake Preston’s 613 residents. Last year it lent 2,339 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,517 visits.
The short version on Lake Preston’s library
Open only about 14 hours a week
Dorothee Pike Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Dorothee Pike Memorial Library serves 613 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 ↓
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 Lake Preston’s civic life grade
Lake Preston 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Dorothee Pike Memorial Library serves 613 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,339 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,331 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
788 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 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 Lake Preston last year.
Find it
Dorothee Pike Memorial Library, 225 N Main Ave, Lake Preston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lake Preston? 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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Preston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $19K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $38K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19K 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 319 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Lake Preston
Does Lake Preston have a public library?
Yes. Dorothee Pike Memorial Library, 225 N Main Ave, serves Lake Preston’s 613 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dorothee Pike Memorial 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 Lake Preston’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lake Preston’s civic life grade?
Lake Preston 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 Lake Preston.
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.