Photo: Shamera · CC BY-SA 4.0Burlington’s library runs 265 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Coffey County Library serves 8,251 people in and around Burlington. Last year it lent 118K books, movies and e-books and logged 121K visits.
The short version on Burlington’s library
More library cards than residents
14,088 cards for 8,251 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Eight times the programs of a typical library its size
Coffey County Library ran 2,186 programs last year, about 42 a week. That’s 265 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 34,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Coffey County Library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Coffey County Library spends $181 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. 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; Coffey County Library serves 8,251 people in and around Burlington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Burlington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Burlington is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #2 of 149 in Kansas. Burlington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Burlington’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Burlington
10.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
11.2%
11.2% of Burlington’s 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 Burlington’s residents live; 2022.
About 23 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Coffey County Library serves 8,251 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coffey County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
118K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
38,667 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Coffey County Library, 410 Juniatta Street, Burlington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Coffey County Library branch.
New in Burlington? 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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burlington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 14,088 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | Coffey County Library fine-free | — | 58 | A+ |
| Burlington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hampden 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.
- System-wide. Coffey County Library serves 8,251 people in and around Burlington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Burlington.
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 Burlington
Does Burlington have a public library?
Yes. Coffey County Library, 410 Juniatta Street, serves 8,251 people in and around Burlington (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coffey County 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 Burlington’s library?
It logged 14.7 visits and lent 14.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Burlington’s civic life grade?
A+ Burlington is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Burlington.
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.