Bala Township’s library runs 140 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Leonardville City Library serves 429 people in and around Bala Township. Last year it lent 3,593 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,092 visits.
What Bala Township’s library is like
Most of Bala Township’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 64% of loans, more per resident than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 36%. What people borrow ↓
Kansas pays a big share
47% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 17 hours a week
Leonardville City Library keeps short hours: about 17 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Leonardville City Library serves 429 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
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 Bala Township’s civic life grade
Bala Township 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 →
64% of borrowing is digital
3,593 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 3,149 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
2,306 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Leonardville City Library serves 429 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
60 programs a year
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.
Find it
Leonardville City Library, 117 N. Erpelding Rd, Leonardville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bala Township? 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 $4.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bala Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $14K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14K 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 328 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bala Township | Leonardville City Library fine-free | 8.4 | 17 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Madison Township | Riley City Library fine-free | 4.3 | 25 | C− |
| Fancy Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sherman Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Bala Township
Does Bala Township have a public library?
Yes. Leonardville City Library, 117 N. Erpelding Rd, serves 429 people in and around Bala Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 17 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Leonardville City 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 Bala Township’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bala Township’s civic life grade?
Bala Township 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 Bala Township.
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.