Elk Township’s library runs 278 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. serves 681 people in and around Elk Township. Last year it lent 3,709 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,640 visits.
What Elk Township’s library is like
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. ran 189 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 278 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,860 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. serves 681 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
34% of the budget comes from the state, and 60% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 77% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; 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
Elk Township 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 →
About 2 kids’ programs 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. serves 681 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.
41% of borrowing is digital
3,709 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,373 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,523 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib., 107 S Green St., Clyde.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. 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 $2.45 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 $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $75K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K 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 337 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 | Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. fine-free | 5.4 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Shirley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Clifton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elk Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lawrence 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. Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib., 107 S Green St., serves 681 people in and around Elk Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Randolph-Decker Pub. Lib. 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 5.3 visits and lent 5.4 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?
Elk Township 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 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.