La Valle’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
La Valle Public Library serves La Valle’s 1,221 residents. Last year it lent 9,295 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,372 visits.
The short version on La Valle’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 72% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 76%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
La Valle Public Library serves 1,221 residents with about one 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
La Valle Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
La Valle Public Library offered 10 programs last year, 8.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Federal money pays a real share
20% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind La Valle’s civic life grade
La Valle 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
La Valle Public Library serves 1,221 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,295 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
1,451 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 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
La Valle Public Library, 101 W. Main St., La Valle.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in La Valle? 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 $5.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Valle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $238K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 519 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 La Valle
Does La Valle have a public library?
Yes. La Valle Public Library, 101 W. Main St., serves La Valle’s 1,221 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is La Valle 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 La Valle’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is La Valle’s civic life grade?
La Valle 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 La Valle.
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.