Bison’s library runs 146 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Bison Community Library serves Bison’s 171 residents. Last year it lent 571 books, movies and e-books and logged 590 visits.
The short version on Bison’s library
Kansas pays a big share
59% of the budget comes from the state, and 39% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Bison Community Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Bison Community Library serves 171 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 Bison’s civic life grade
Bison 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.
Bison Community Library serves 171 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Bison Community Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
571 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,218 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
205 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
25 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
Bison Community Library, 202 Main, Bison.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bison? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $17K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $10K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $17K 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 89 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Bison Community Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Bison
Does Bison have a public library?
Yes. Bison Community Library, 202 Main, serves Bison’s 171 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bison Community 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 Bison’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bison’s civic life grade?
Bison 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 Bison.
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.