Burr Oak School · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Burr Oak’s library runs 192 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Burr Oak Community Library serves Burr Oak’s 334 residents. Last year it lent 1,916 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,205 visits.
The short version on Burr Oak’s library
A small-town library
Burr Oak Community Library serves 334 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 ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Burr Oak Community Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kansas pays a big share
27% of the budget comes from the state, and 50% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
88% of the 64 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 8 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Burr Oak’s civic life grade
Burr Oak 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 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Burr Oak Community Library serves 334 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,916 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,834 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
355 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Burr Oak Community Library, 231 S Pennsylvania, Burr Oak.
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 Burr Oak? 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 Burr Oak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $34K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 125 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Burr Oak
Does Burr Oak have a public library?
Yes. Burr Oak Community Library, 231 S Pennsylvania, serves Burr Oak’s 334 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Burr Oak 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 Burr Oak’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 5.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Burr Oak’s civic life grade?
Burr Oak 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 Burr Oak.
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.