Readstown’s library logs 4.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Readstown Public Library serves Readstown’s 442 residents. Last year it lent 1,248 print books and media and logged 2,011 visits.
What Readstown’s library is like
A small-town library
Readstown Public Library serves 442 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 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 ↓
Nearly everyone in Readstown has a card
384 cards for 442 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Readstown Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 11 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Readstown’s civic life grade
Readstown 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Readstown Public Library serves 442 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Readstown Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,248 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
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
Find it
Readstown Public Library, 129 W. Wisconsin Ave., Readstown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Readstown? 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 Readstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 384 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Readstown
Does Readstown have a public library?
Yes. Readstown Public Library, 129 W. Wisconsin Ave., serves Readstown’s 442 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Readstown 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 Readstown’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Readstown’s civic life grade?
Readstown 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 Readstown.
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.