Photo: afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0Wilbur’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library serves Wilbur’s 900 residents. Last year it lent 3,365 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,164 visits.
The short version on Wilbur’s library
More library cards than residents
1,091 cards for 900 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $26 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library serves 900 residents with about 2 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 ↓
Most of Wilbur’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans, more per resident than at 74% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 46%. 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 Wilbur’s civic life grade
Wilbur 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library serves 900 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
54% of borrowing is digital
3,365 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,428 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,814 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
8 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 Wilbur last year.
Find it
Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library, 14 NW Division, Wilbur.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wilbur? 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 $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wilbur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $23K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $51K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $23K 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 1,091 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 Wilbur
Does Wilbur have a public library?
Yes. Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library, 14 NW Division, serves Wilbur’s 900 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilbur (Hesseltine) 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 Wilbur’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wilbur’s civic life grade?
Wilbur 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 Wilbur.
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.