Methodist Episcopal Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Scotland’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Scotland Community Library serves 1,733 people in and around Scotland. Last year it lent 8,200 books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Scotland’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 93% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 40%. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Scotland branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Scotland Community Library spends $14 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 60% of similar-size libraries. 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; Scotland Community Library serves 1,733 people in and around Scotland, 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 Scotland’s civic life grade
Scotland 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Scotland Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Scotland Community Library serves 1,733 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,200 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,868 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Scotland Community Library, 221 Juniper Street, Scotland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Scotland Community Library branch.
New in Scotland? 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 $5.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scotland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $134K 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 767 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Scotland Community Library serves 1,733 people in and around Scotland, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Scotland.
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 Scotland
Does Scotland have a public library?
Yes. Scotland Community Library, 221 Juniper Street, serves 1,733 people in and around Scotland (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scotland Community 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 Scotland’s library?
It logged 12.3 visits and lent 4.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Scotland’s civic life grade?
Scotland 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 Scotland.
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.