Chetopa’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Chetopa City Library serves Chetopa’s 911 residents. Last year it lent 1,617 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,500 visits.
Chetopa’s library, in brief
Chetopa City Library is used less than most libraries its size
Chetopa City Library records 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $30 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Kansas pays a big share
49% of the budget comes from the state, and 51% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Chetopa City Library serves 911 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
Chetopa City Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Chetopa’s civic life grade
Chetopa 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Chetopa City Library serves 911 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,617 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 4,153 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
617 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
25 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 Chetopa last year.
Find it
Chetopa City Library, 312 Maple, Chetopa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chetopa? 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 $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chetopa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $31K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 256 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Chetopa City Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Chetopa
Does Chetopa have a public library?
Yes. Chetopa City Library, 312 Maple, serves Chetopa’s 911 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chetopa City 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 Chetopa’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Chetopa’s civic life grade?
Chetopa 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 Chetopa.
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.