Photo: No machine-readable author provided. TheOuthouseMouse assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5Utopia’s library logs 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Utopia Memorial Library serves 2,814 people in and around Utopia. Last year it lent 1,546 print books and media and logged 1,782 visits.
Utopia’s library, in brief
Utopia Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Utopia Memorial Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Utopia Memorial Library offered 12 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
39% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 61%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Utopia branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Utopia Memorial Library spends $5 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Utopia Memorial Library serves 2,814 people in and around Utopia, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Utopia’s civic life grade
Utopia 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Utopia Memorial Library serves 2,814 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Utopia Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,546 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
12 programs a year
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
Utopia Memorial Library, 800 Main St., Utopia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Utopia Memorial Library branch.
New in Utopia? 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 $1.89 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Utopia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $15K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $29K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15K 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 1,117 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Utopia Memorial Library serves 2,814 people in and around Utopia, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Utopia.
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 Utopia
Does Utopia have a public library?
Yes. Utopia Memorial Library, 800 Main St., serves 2,814 people in and around Utopia (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Utopia Memorial 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 Utopia’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Utopia’s civic life grade?
Utopia 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 Utopia.
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.