Elm Grove Township’s library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Edna Public Library serves 382 people in and around Elm Grove Township. Last year it lent 3,258 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,462 visits.
The short version on Elm Grove Township’s library
More library cards than residents
532 cards for 382 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 ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Edna Public Library serves 382 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 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 ↓
Kansas pays a big share
35% of the budget comes from the state, and 64% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People come to Edna Public Library a lot
Edna Public Library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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 Elm Grove Township’s civic life grade
Elm Grove 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Edna Public Library serves 382 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,258 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,515 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
9 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.
Find it
Edna Public Library, 105 N Delaware, Edna.
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 Elm Grove 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 $2.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elm Grove Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $53K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 532 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elm Grove Township | Edna Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 26 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mount Pleasant Township | Altamont Public Library fine-free | 2.2 | 26 | A+ |
| Hackberry Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Howard Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Canada 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 Elm Grove Township
Does Elm Grove Township have a public library?
Yes. Edna Public Library, 105 N Delaware, serves 382 people in and around Elm Grove Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edna 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 Elm Grove Township’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Elm Grove Township’s civic life grade?
Elm Grove 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 Elm Grove 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.