Centralia’s library runs 238 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Centralia Community Library serves Centralia’s 492 residents. Last year it lent 6,842 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,119 visits.
The short version on Centralia’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Centralia Community Library ran 117 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 238 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,189 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Centralia Community Library serves 492 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 34 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 39% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kansas pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 61% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
71% of the 117 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 31 were for children. 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 Centralia’s civic life grade
Centralia 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 →
117 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 Centralia last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Centralia Community Library serves 492 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,842 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,836 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,688 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Centralia Community Library, 520 4th Street, Centralia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Centralia? 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 $2.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Centralia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $125K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 273 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 Centralia
Does Centralia have a public library?
Yes. Centralia Community Library, 520 4th Street, serves Centralia’s 492 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Centralia Community 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 Centralia’s library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 13.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Centralia’s civic life grade?
Centralia 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 Centralia.
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.