Burrton Township’s library runs 107 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Ruth Dole Memorial Library serves 843 people in and around Burrton Township. Last year it lent 1,684 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,750 visits.
What Burrton Township’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 90 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Ruth Dole Memorial Library serves 843 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 19 hours a week
Ruth Dole Memorial Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. Buhler Public Library in Little River Township, next door, is open about 36 hours a week. The building ↓
Kansas pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 76% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Burrton Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Burrton Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Burrton Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Burrton Township
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Burrton Township’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 Burrton Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Ruth Dole Memorial Library serves 843 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
1,684 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,977 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
84 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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
Ruth Dole Memorial Library, 121 N Burrton, Burrton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Burrton 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 $1.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burrton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $24K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $24K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 532 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little River Township | Buhler Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 36 | B− |
| Burrton Township | Ruth Dole Memorial Library | 2.0 | 19 | B |
| Alta Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Halstead Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lake 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 Burrton Township
Does Burrton Township have a public library?
Yes. Ruth Dole Memorial Library, 121 N Burrton, serves 843 people in and around Burrton Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ruth Dole Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Burrton Township’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Burrton Township’s civic life grade?
B Burrton Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Burrton 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.