Photo: Kaethesson · CC BY-SA 3.0Canton Township’s library runs 145 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Canton Township serves Canton Township’s 920 residents. Last year it lent 1,542 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,266 visits.
Canton Township’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Canton Township serves 920 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 20 hours a week
Canton Township keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Canton Township Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. Today’s library there has 1,848 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 66% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
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 Canton Township’s civic life grade
Canton Township 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 →
A National Register landmark since 1987
Canton Township, 203 N Main, Canton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Canton Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Canton Township Carnegie Library
Canton Township Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 25, 1987. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Kansas TR.
The Canton Township Carnegie Library is an historic Carnegie library at 203 North Main Street in Canton, Kansas, United States. The library was built in 1921. It was the last Carnegie library built in the United States with Carnegie Foundation funding. The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Canton Township serves 920 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,542 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,548 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
253 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
133 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 Canton Township last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Canton Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $36K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $40K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $36K 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 268 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Township | Canton Township fine-free | 1.7 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lehigh Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Spring Valley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Battle Hill Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Empire Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Canton Township
Does Canton Township have a public library?
Yes. Canton Township, 203 N Main, serves Canton Township’s 920 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Canton Township 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 Canton Township’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Canton Township’s civic life grade?
Canton Township 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 Canton 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. 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.