Karnes Stone Barn · Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0Elk Township’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Overbrook Public Library serves 984 people in and around Elk Township. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,501 visits.
What Elk Township’s library is like
More library cards than residents
1,262 cards for 984 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Elk Township uses its library more than almost any town its size
Overbrook Public Library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 68 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 49 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Overbrook Public Library serves 984 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 43 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 ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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 Elk Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elk Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Elk Township 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Elk Township
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.6%
15.6% of Elk 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 Elk Township’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
2,181 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Overbrook Public Library serves 984 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 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
Overbrook Public Library, 317 Maple, Overbrook.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elk 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elk Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $147K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $234K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $147K 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 1,262 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | Overbrook Public Library fine-free | 15.2 | 43 | A |
| Ridgeway Township | Carbondale City Library fine-free | 7.4 | 39 | B+ |
| Marion Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Junction Township | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Monmouth Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Fairfax 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 Elk Township
Does Elk Township have a public library?
Yes. Overbrook Public Library, 317 Maple, serves 984 people in and around Elk Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Overbrook Public 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 Elk Township’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 15.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elk Township’s civic life grade?
A Elk Township is ahead of 90% 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 Elk 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.