Lake Arrowhead’s library logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lester Public Library of Rome serves 3,204 people in and around Lake Arrowhead. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
Lake Arrowhead’s library, in brief
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
People come to Lester Public Library of Rome a lot
Lester Public Library of Rome logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Lester Public Library of Rome serves more than Lake Arrowhead
The library’s service area covers 3,204 people in and around Lake Arrowhead, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
A place to get online
Lester Public Library of Rome logs about 51 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 8 public computers. That’s 5.8 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 221 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 62 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Lake Arrowhead’s civic life grade
Lake Arrowhead 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lester Public Library of Rome serves 3,204 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
9,405 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Lester Public Library of Rome, 1157 Rome Center Dr., Nekoosa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lake Arrowhead? 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 $1.81 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Arrowhead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $286K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $516K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $286K 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 1,497 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 Lake Arrowhead
Does Lake Arrowhead have a public library?
Yes. Lester Public Library of Rome, 1157 Rome Center Dr., serves 3,204 people in and around Lake Arrowhead (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lester Public Library of Rome 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 Lake Arrowhead’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lake Arrowhead’s civic life grade?
Lake Arrowhead 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 Lake Arrowhead.
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.