Photo: Kansas Geological Society · Public domainCottonwood Falls’ library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Burnley Memorial/Falls Township serves 1,055 people in and around Cottonwood Falls. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,391 visits.
What Cottonwood Falls’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
95% of the 64 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
Burnley Memorial/Falls Township keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Burnley Memorial/Falls Township serves 1,055 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 ↓
Kansas pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Burnley Memorial/Falls Township logs about 12 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 4.2 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Cottonwood Falls’ civic life grade
Cottonwood Falls 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,816 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
1,192 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Burnley Memorial/Falls Township serves 1,055 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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
Cottonwood Falls/Burnley Memorial, 405 N. Oak, Cottonwood Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cottonwood Falls? 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 $5.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cottonwood Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $35K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $185K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $35K 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 411 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 Cottonwood Falls
Does Cottonwood Falls have a public library?
Yes. Burnley Memorial/Falls Township, 405 N. Oak, serves 1,055 people in and around Cottonwood Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Burnley Memorial/Falls Township 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 Cottonwood Falls’ library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 9.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cottonwood Falls’ civic life grade?
Cottonwood Falls 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 Cottonwood Falls.
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.