Waubay’s library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Waubay Public Library serves Waubay’s 475 residents. Last year it lent 2,061 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,699 visits.
What stands out about Waubay’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Waubay’s civic life grade
Waubay 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 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Waubay Public Library serves 475 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,061 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
381 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
20 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
Waubay Public Library, 94 North Main St., Waubay.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Waubay? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waubay cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 370 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waubay | Waubay Public Library | 4.3 | 33 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Waubay Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Central Point Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Waubay
Does Waubay have a public library?
Yes. Waubay Public Library, 94 North Main St., serves Waubay’s 475 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waubay Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Waubay’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Waubay’s civic life grade?
Waubay 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 Waubay.
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.