Baxter Springs Independent Oil and Gas Service Station · Photo: Vanessa Ezekowitz · CC BY-SA 3.0Baxter Springs’ library lends 1.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Johnston Public Library serves Baxter Springs’s 3,830 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,467 visits.
The short version on Baxter Springs’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Johnston Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today’s library there has 5,600 square feet. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 69 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 16 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Baxter Springs’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Baxter Springs is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #108 of 149 in Kansas. Baxter Springs’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$64K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Baxter Springs
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Baxter Springs’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Baxter Springs’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1976
Johnston Public Library, 210 W. 10th St., Baxter Springs.
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 Baxter Springs? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Johnston Library
Johnston Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 21, 1976. It is significant for its education, politics and architecture at the local level.
The Johnston Library is a historic library located at 210 W. 10th St. in Baxter Springs, Kansas. The building was constructed in 1872 to serve as a courthouse during Baxter Springs' unsuccessful attempt to become the Cherokee County seat.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Johnston Public Library serves 3,830 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. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
4,167 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
69 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Baxter Springs last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Baxter Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $148K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $181K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $148K 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 2,542 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter Springs | Johnston Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 44 | C+ |
| Spring Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Garden Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Baxter Springs
Does Baxter Springs have a public library?
Yes. Johnston Public Library, 210 W. 10th St., serves Baxter Springs’ 3,830 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Johnston 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 Baxter Springs’ library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Baxter Springs’ civic life grade?
C+ Baxter Springs is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #108 of 149 in Kansas. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Baxter Springs.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.