Cheney’s library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Cheney Public Library serves 2,791 people in and around Cheney. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
What Cheney’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 72 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 44 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Cheney has a card
2,361 cards for 2,791 people, or 85%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 77% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Cheney’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cheney is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Cheney is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Cheney
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Cheney’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 Cheney’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cheney Public Library serves 2,791 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
995 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Cheney Public Library, 203 N. Main, Cheney.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cheney? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cheney cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $269K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 2,361 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 Cheney
Does Cheney have a public library?
Yes. Cheney Public Library, 203 N. Main, serves 2,791 people in and around Cheney (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cheney 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 Cheney’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cheney’s civic life grade?
B+ Cheney is ahead of 69% 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 Cheney.
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.