Photo: not specified · Public domainAlma’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Alma Public Library serves Alma’s 6,146 residents. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 5,870 visits.
What Alma’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Alma Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Alma Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Alma’s civic life grade
Alma 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.
Alma Public Library serves 6,146 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
15K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
78 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
Alma Public Library, 312 N. Main St., Alma.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alma? 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 $2.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alma cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $123K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $288K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $123K 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 2,073 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | Alma Public Library fine-free | 2.4 | 31 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Greenfield Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Nelson | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Belvidere | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Alma
Does Alma have a public library?
Yes. Alma Public Library, 312 N. Main St., serves Alma’s 6,146 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alma 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 Alma’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Alma’s civic life grade?
Alma 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 Alma.
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.