Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0Salina’s library logs 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Salina Public Library serves 4,391 people in and around Salina. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,659 visits.
Salina’s library, in brief
Salina Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Salina Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
95% of the 64 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 47 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 94% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Most of Salina’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 65% of loans, more per resident than at 82% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 35%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Salina Municipal Building and Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Today’s library there has 2,700 square feet. The building ↓
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.
What’s behind Salina’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salina is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #13 of 106 in Utah. Salina is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Salina’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 Salina
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
13.0%
13.0% of Salina’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Utah 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 Salina’s residents live; 2022.
65% of borrowing is digital
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
10,352 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Salina Public Library serves 4,391 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program a week
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.
A National Register landmark since 1986
Salina Public Library, 90 West Main Street, Salina.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Salina? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Salina Municipal Building and Library
Salina Municipal Building and Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 9, 1986. It is significant for its politics, architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as Prairie School and Art Deco Influence. It was listed as part of Public Works Buildings TR.
The Salina Municipal Building and Library is a historic building in Salina, Utah. The original city hall was built in 1887, and torn down to make way for this new building. Construction began in 1936, and it was completed in 1937. It was built under the Works Progress Administration program by M.W. Breinholt, who was a building contractor in nearby Richfield, Utah for six decades.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salina cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $137K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $246K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $137K 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 1,435 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 Salina
Does Salina have a public library?
Yes. Salina Public Library, 90 West Main Street, serves 4,391 people in and around Salina (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salina 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 Salina’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salina’s civic life grade?
B Salina is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 of 106 in Utah. 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 Salina.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.