Center Township’s library lends 4.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Smith Center Public Library serves 1,585 people in and around Center Township. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,258 visits.
What’s behind Center Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Center Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Center Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Center Township near the top nationally; Center Township’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Center Township
10.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.9%
13.9% of Center 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 Center Township’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Smith Center Public Library serves 1,585 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,836 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
52 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.
Find it
Smith Center Public Library, 117 W. Court, Smith Center.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Center 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 $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Center Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $89K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $177K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $89K 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 935 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | Smith Center Public Library | 6.7 | 38 | A+ |
| Lane Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Blaine Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Washington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Banner 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 Center Township
Does Center Township have a public library?
Yes. Smith Center Public Library, 117 W. Court, serves 1,585 people in and around Center Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Smith Center Public 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 Center Township’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Center Township’s civic life grade?
A+ Center Township is among the top 1% 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 Center 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.