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Library · Phelps

Phelps Library

Phelps Library serves Phelps’s 6,637 residents. Last year it lent 22K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.

8 Banta Street, Suite 200, Phelps 14532 · about 54 hours a week
Borrowed a year
22K
3.3 per resident
Visits a year
25K
3.8 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
482
about 9 a week · 5,072 attended
Cardholders
24%
1,561 cards
Open
54 hrs
a week

What stands out about Phelps Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.51 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Phelps cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$37 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $243K.

Local taxes 94%State 1%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $367K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $243K 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 1,561 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

25K
visits
3.8 per resident
22K
loans, print + digital
3.3 per resident
482
programs & events
5,072 attended
1,561
library cards
24% of people served
Every open hour8items borrowed
Every week98people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
4 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers26K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at programs offered

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.

Visits per resident 3.8 visits · typical 3Higher than 61%
Borrowing per resident 2.7 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 66%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1Lower than 65%
Kids’ borrowing 1.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 51%
Program attendance 0.8 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 67%
Programs offered 72.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 82%
Cardholders 24% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 80%
Spending $37 per resident · typical $43Lower than 59%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Phelps Library serves 6,637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

22K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

22Kloans
Books & media (adults) 32%Kids’ books & media 49%E-books, audio & streaming 19%
How hard the shelves work
0.7×

Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.

From your couch

4,106 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 8 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Phelps →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5260
Ages 6–11140
Teens26
Adults48
All ages8
Little ones
5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
8

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Phelps last year.

5,072
people at programs
482
programs
The building

Find it

Phelps Library, 8 Banta Street, Suite 200, Phelps.

54
hours open a week
6,744
square feet
26K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Phelps? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
PhelpsPhelps Library fine-free3.354
LyonsLyons Public Library fine-free—47
JuniusNone of its own——
SenecaNone of its own——
HopewellNone of its own——
GenevaNone of its own——

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report.

About these numbers

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
  • Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
  • 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.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Phelps.

Town Square →
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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.

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