Newell’s library logs 2.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Newell Public Library serves Newell’s 597 residents. Last year it lent 4,329 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,665 visits.
What Newell’s library is like
Open only about 13 hours a week
Newell Public Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Newell Public Library serves 597 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 ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Newell Public Library holds 24,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Newell’s civic life grade
Newell 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 →
44% of borrowing is digital
4,329 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
1,907 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Newell Public Library serves 597 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
25 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.
Find it
Newell Public Library, 208 Girard, Newell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Newell? 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 $2.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $66K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 243 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 Newell
Does Newell have a public library?
Yes. Newell Public Library, 208 Girard, serves Newell’s 597 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newell 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 Newell’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Newell’s civic life grade?
Newell 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 Newell.
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.