Peter and Minnie Monfore House · Photo: Jake DeGroot · CC BY-SA 3.0Springfield’s library logs 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Evelyn Lang Public Library serves Springfield’s 843 residents. Last year it lent 4,073 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,048 visits.
Springfield’s library, in brief
Most of Springfield’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 62% of loans, more per resident than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 38%. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 9 hours a week
Evelyn Lang Public Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Evelyn Lang Public Library serves 843 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 ↓
Runs on less money than most
Evelyn Lang Public Library spends $20 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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 Springfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Springfield is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns. Springfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Springfield’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Evelyn Lang Public Library spends $20 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$70K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Springfield
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.3%
3.3% of Springfield’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical South Dakota town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Springfield’s residents live; 2022.
62% of borrowing is digital
4,073 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,104 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
2,545 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Evelyn Lang Public Library serves 843 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
19 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
Evelyn Lang Public Library, 605 8th Street, Springfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Springfield? 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 $3.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Springfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $16K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $64K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16K 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 195 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 Springfield
Does Springfield have a public library?
Yes. Evelyn Lang Public Library, 605 8th Street, serves Springfield’s 843 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Evelyn Lang 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 Springfield’s library?
It logged 1.2 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 Springfield’s civic life grade?
D Springfield is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Springfield.
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.