Photo: Nyttend · Public domainRupert’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Rupert Public Library serves 4,012 people in and around Rupert. Last year it lent 8,347 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,460 visits.
Rupert’s library, in brief
Rupert Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Rupert Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
39% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Rupert Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Rupert Public Library serves 4,012 people in and around Rupert, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Rupert’s civic life grade
Rupert 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 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rupert Public Library serves 4,012 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rupert Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,347 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Rupert’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
1,371 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
41 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Rupert Public Library, 124 Greenbrier Street, Rupert.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Rupert Public Library branch.
New in Rupert? 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rupert cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $145K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 1,864 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Rupert Public Library serves 4,012 people in and around Rupert, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Rupert.
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 Rupert
Does Rupert have a public library?
Yes. Rupert Public Library, 124 Greenbrier Street, serves 4,012 people in and around Rupert (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rupert 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 Rupert’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Rupert’s civic life grade?
Rupert 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 Rupert.
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.