Photo: Kaethesson · CC BY-SA 3.0Canton’s library runs 145 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Canton Township serves 920 people in and around Canton. Last year it lent 1,542 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,266 visits.
The short version on Canton’s library
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 ↓
Canton Township serves more than Canton
The library’s service area covers 920 people in and around Canton, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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’s civic life grade
Canton 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? 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.
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 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.
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
Does Canton have a public library?
Yes. Canton Township, 203 N Main, serves 920 people in and around Canton (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’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’s civic life grade?
Canton 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.
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.