Soldiers Grove’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Soldiers Grove Public Library serves Soldiers Grove’s 1,898 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,383 visits.
Soldiers Grove’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Soldiers Grove Public Library serves 1,898 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 32 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 ↓
A place to get online
Soldiers Grove Public Library logs about 21 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 7 public computers. That’s 4 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 96 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Soldiers Grove’s civic life grade
Soldiers Grove 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Soldiers Grove Public Library serves 1,898 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
1,968 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Soldiers Grove last year.
Find it
Soldiers Grove Public Library, 102 Passive Sun Dr., Solar Town Cen, Soldiers Grove.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Soldiers Grove? 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 $2.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Soldiers Grove cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $99K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $216K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $99K 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 767 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 Soldiers Grove
Does Soldiers Grove have a public library?
Yes. Soldiers Grove Public Library, 102 Passive Sun Dr., Solar Town Cen, serves Soldiers Grove’s 1,898 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Soldiers Grove 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 Soldiers Grove’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Soldiers Grove’s civic life grade?
Soldiers Grove 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 Soldiers Grove.
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.