Mary Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church · Photo: Williamborg · Public domainSprague’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Sprague Public Library serves Sprague’s 500 residents. Last year it lent 692 books, movies and e-books and logged 355 visits.
What Sprague’s library is like
Sprague Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Sprague Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sprague Public Library serves 500 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 hours a week. 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Sprague Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 10 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 75%. What your card is worth ↓
42% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 42% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sprague’s civic life grade
Sprague 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sprague Public Library serves 500 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Sprague Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
42% of borrowing is digital
692 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 2,018 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
292 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Sprague last year.
Find it
Sprague Public Library, 119 West Second, Sprague.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sprague? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sprague cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 108 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Sprague Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Sprague
Does Sprague have a public library?
Yes. Sprague Public Library, 119 West Second, serves Sprague’s 500 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sprague 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 Sprague’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sprague’s civic life grade?
Sprague 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 Sprague.
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.