Scandinavia’s library lends 6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Scandinavia Public Library serves Scandinavia’s 1,217 residents. Last year it lent 8,422 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,700 visits.
Scandinavia’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Scandinavia Public Library serves 1,217 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 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 ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 19% of the people Scandinavia Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Scandinavia’s civic life grade
Scandinavia 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.
Scandinavia Public Library serves 1,217 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.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
8,422 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
1,120 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
25 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Scandinavia Public Library, 349 N. Main St., Scandinavia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Scandinavia? 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 $1.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Scandinavia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $70K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $129K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $70K 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 233 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 Scandinavia
Does Scandinavia have a public library?
Yes. Scandinavia Public Library, 349 N. Main St., serves Scandinavia’s 1,217 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Scandinavia 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 Scandinavia’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Scandinavia’s civic life grade?
Scandinavia 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 Scandinavia.
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.