Cedar Vale’s library runs 243 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Cedar Vale Memorial Library serves Cedar Vale’s 469 residents. Last year it lent 1,904 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,560 visits.
Cedar Vale’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
673 cards for 469 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Cedar Vale Memorial Library ran 114 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 243 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,094 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Cedar Vale Memorial Library serves 469 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 hours a week. 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 ↓
Kansas pays a big share
32% of the budget comes from the state, and 53% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 114 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 51 for ages 0–5. 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 Cedar Vale’s civic life grade
Cedar Vale 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 →
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cedar Vale last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cedar Vale Memorial Library serves 469 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,904 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,706 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
9 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Cedar Vale Memorial Library, 608 Cedar, Cedar Vale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cedar Vale? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cedar Vale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $41K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 673 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 Cedar Vale
Does Cedar Vale have a public library?
Yes. Cedar Vale Memorial Library, 608 Cedar, serves Cedar Vale’s 469 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cedar Vale Memorial 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 Cedar Vale’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cedar Vale’s civic life grade?
Cedar Vale 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 Cedar Vale.
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.